


In the Days of Our Lives

by semifunctionalfangirl



Category: Banana Bus Squad, H2OVanoss - Fandom, youtube - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe, CEO Evan, Homeless Jonathan, M/M, Memory Loss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-25
Updated: 2016-09-14
Packaged: 2018-04-17 05:26:20
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 45,486
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4654020
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/semifunctionalfangirl/pseuds/semifunctionalfangirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Evan is the youngest CEO in Los Angeles; not to mention his net worth is 5.2 billion dollars. But when his driver hits a homeless man on the way home one night, Evan takes responsibility for him. What happens when he realizes that it's his long-lost best friend? Or that said best friend has no idea who he is?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This is a gift for my babe, Kimberly. She's noenoemi on tumblr and you should totally go check her out. She's amazing.

It was the last day of middle school and the bus was full of rowdy, uncontrollable students. 

For Evan and his friends, they were officially high schoolers. He was slightly nervous about it, but he knew that with Jonathan by his side, he could make it through.

Speaking of his best friend, he was being quieter than usual, which worried Evan. They were on the bus home, sitting next to each other and actively ignoring their friend Tyler, who was being obnoxiously loud in the seat behind them.

Evan nudged him. “What’s wrong?” 

Jonathan glanced up from his lap and met his eyes. But he didn’t say anything and instead shook his head. 

Evan furrowed his brows in confusion. “I know when something is wrong, Jon. Do you want to come over and talk about it?”

He hesitated for a minute before nodding. 

Before Evan could say anything else, Tyler was leaning over their shoulders and yelling something about summer. 

Luckily, Evan’s was the next stop and the two friends waved half-heartedly to the rest of the bus as they made their way to the street. 

“Call me tomorrow!” Tyler yelled out the window as the bus rolled on to the next stop.

“He’s so loud all of the time.” It was the first thing Jonathan had said all day.

“Yeah, but that’s just Tyler, ya know?” They walked slowly down the block towards Evan’s house. Evan wanted to broach the topic of what was bothering his friend, but didn’t want to push him.

Luckily, it didn’t take much more than a seat on the swing-set in Evan’s backyard and a toss of their backpacks for Jonathan to sigh and open his mouth. “I’m moving.”

Evan paused in his movements. “You’re moving? Moving to where?”

“North Carolina…” It was barely a whisper and Evan had to strain to catch it. 

“North Carolina? But that’s completely across the country!” Evan noticed that Jon’s eyes were closed and could tell he was holding back a sob. “When?”

“Tomorrow.”

“You’re leaving tomorrow and you’re just telling me today?” Evan couldn’t keep the hurt out of his voice. This was his best friend. They were supposed to start high school together. They were supposed to be by each other’s sides forever. 

“I’ve wanted to tell you for so long. I was so scared that you’d stop being my friend if you knew.” 

And yes, Evan was hurt and angry, but he never would have stopped being his friend. He told him as much. “There are phones right? We can still talk to each other. And when we get older we can visit each other.” He wasn’t sure who he was trying to comfort at this point, himself or Jonathan. “We won’t ever stop being best buds.”

Jonathan looked up, blue eyes red and rimmed with unshed tears. “Promise?”

Evan hopped off of the swing and pulled the other boy into a hug. “Promise.”

When he pulled away, Jon had a nervous look on his face. “Don’t hit me…but I want to try something before I leave, okay?”

Evan raised an eyebrow, but nodded his assent. 

Jonathan hesitantly placed his hand on Evan’s cheek, and leaned in to peck him quickly on the lips.

It was Evan’s first kiss, and he looked at Jonathan with wide, surprised eyes. He never would have guessed that Jonathan would try to kiss him. 

“I didn’t want to leave without doing that.” The tips of his ears were bright red and he was staring down at his lap.

Evan couldn’t form words. Did he like Jonathan as more than a friend? He was only 14, he wasn't sure he even knew what he liked yet.

But he couldn’t deny the butterflies in his stomach. 

“Do you like me?” He asked hurriedly. He had to know.

Jonathan nodded jerkily. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. You leave tomorrow, Jon. Let’s make this the best last day ever.” Evan placed a sloppy kiss on his friend’s cheek before grabbing his hand and leading him inside. 

Jonathan pulled him to a stop. “I don’t understand. I told you that I liked you. I kissed you. And you still want to hang out with me?”

“Of course I do. You’re my best friend, Jon. And I kinda like you too. So, if you’re done being confused, I’d like to spend the rest of the day with my boyfriend.”

“Boyfriend?” The question was timid.

“Yep. If I only get one day with you as my boyfriend, we better make it count.” Evan winked and it caused Jonathan to giggle.

The rest of the day was spent playing video games on Evan’s Nintendo 64. When dinner time rolled around, Evan asked his mom to take the boys to the mall, so that Evan could buy Jonathan dinner. Evan never let go of his hand, and Jonathan couldn’t stop smiling.

They spent that last day together and as Jonathan waved goodbye from the backseat of his mother’s truck that night, Evan knew that he’d never meet a person as amazing as him.

And neither knew that it would be the last time they would see each other for the next 20 years.


	2. Like a Dream

The sun was low in the sky by the time Evan walked out of his office building. He slipped into the back of the awaiting towncar and immediately rested his head against the back of the seat. 

"Long day, sir?" Larry, his driver, was looking at him with raised eyebrows through the rear view mirror. 

"I've had meetings since 8 this morning. Just take me home, Larry." 

Evan Fong was the youngest CEO in Los Angeles and his net worth was a whopping 5.2 billion dollars. When he was 24, he started a video game development company with his best friend Tyler Thomas-Johnson, who happened to now be the youngest CFO in Los Angeles. 

Games Inc. was the highest grossing video game company in the country. 

It was late enough that traffic was light and Larry handled the car expertly through the streets of LA. 

Evan groaned audibly when his phone rang from his jacket. He pressed the button on his Bluetooth. "Fong", he answered in a clipped tone. 

"Yo, Evan. The numbers came back from the focus groups on the new game." Tyler started. 

"Dammit, Tyler. I just left the office."

"Oh you did, did you? Guess where I am? Still in the fucking office. And Craig has already called me three times about dinner..."

"Alright, alright. What did they say?" Evan closed his eyes and prepared himself for a long conversation. 

Tyler launched into an explanation of how the focus group had less than stellar opinions on the new zombie game they were developing and Evan was only half listening. He knew the game was far from being finished, and there was a lot more that had to be done before they released it as a beta. They needed to make it different from every other zombie game on the market and that in and of itself was proving to be the most difficult. 

Evan jolted forward in his seatbelt as Larry slammed on the brakes with a litany of curses. There was a bump, then a scream, and Evan was clawing at his seatbelt to free himself. 

Larry was already out of the car and kneeling by the front bumper. "Hey man! You okay?"

Evan careened over the hood of the car and fell to the ground next to the fallen man. He was curled up into a fetal position, groaning loudly and clutching his hip. He nearly threw up at the awkward angle that his leg was now in, obviously broken when it was caught underneath the bumper. 

Immediately Evan could tell that the man was homeless. He was covered in grime and soot, smelled atrocious, and his clothes were tattered and stained. His hair was long and matted and covered half of his face. 

His eyes were clenched shut in agony and Evan finally snapped out of his shock and began barking orders. "Call 911!" 

Larry fumbled for the phone in his pocket and did as he was told. Evan placed a comforting hand on the hurt man's back and tried to get him to calm down. 

The man whimpered in pain but eased into the touch. 

"Help is on the way." Evan said softly. "Don't worry. We'll get you all fixed up. What's your name?" He wasn't sure what he was doing, but he wanted the man to think about something other than his broken leg and bruised hip. 

"Delirious."

Evan chuckled. "That's an odd name. But okay Delirious. I'm Evan. Is there anyone we can call to meet you at the hospital?"

Delirious just shook his head. 

"Can I look at your hip?" Evan had played hockey for years. He's taken quite a few hip checks and while they were nothing compared to getting hit by a fucking car, he might be able to tell the extent of the damage. 

Delirious removed his hand slowly and hesitantly nodded. Evan gently moved the blue hoodie up off of the area and winced at the already sizable bruise. There was nothing bulging, so he was pretty certain nothing was broken. "Good news friend. Looks like it's just a bruise."

"Tell that to my fucking leg." His voice was heavy with pain, but it had a musical lilt to it and Evan couldn't help but think he sounded oddly familiar. "Is the dog okay?"

"What dog?" There was no dog in sight, and Evan wondered if he missed it completely in his rush to get to the man. 

They could hear the sirens then, and as the ambulance came rolling around the corner, Evan took a step back as to not get in the way of the professionals. 

"What happened here?" One of the medics asked as the other two got to work securing Delirious to a stretcher. 

Larry stepped forward, hands shaking. "There was a dog...just ran out into the street. He...this man...ran in front and threw the dog out of the way. I couldn't stop in time. I tried." Evan placed a hand on his shoulder to quiet him. 

The medic nodded and asked his companions a few questions on Delirious' status before turning back to the two men. 

"We're taking him down to Cedars-Sinai. You're more than welcome to follow us but since you aren't family, I wouldn't count on them letting you in until he's stable."

Evan nodded curtly and glanced quickly in Delirious' direction. He was staring back at him intently, baby blue eyes clouded over in pain and curiosity. 

He made his decision immediately. Turning to Larry, said quietly, "Take me to the hospital and then go home. Be with your wife. This wasn't your fault. I'll keep you updated on his status. I'll call Marcel when I need a ride home."

"But sir..."

Evan shook his head, waving away all arguments. Larry nodded minutely and got back into the driver's seat. 

Evan waited until they loaded the man in the back of the ambulance before climbing back into the car. His phone was buzzing and Evan reached for the Bluetooth that had flown to the floor in his attempt to exit the vehicle. 

"Tyler..."

"Evan! What the fuck just happened? Are you okay?" 

Evan pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'm fine. There was an accident and we hit a homeless man. I'm headed to the hospital now." 

"Fucking hell." Tyler said. "I'll send Marcel to stay with you."

"That's really not necessary..."

"Too fucking bad." Tyler cut him off. "I would be there had I not already promised Craig that I'd take him to Dejulios tonight. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. But the man...he was in pretty bad shape." Evan told his friend. "Hey don't tell Craig, okay? You know he'd just want to come to the hospital and I don't want it to ruin your night." Evan knew how Tyler's husband could worry. 

"I can't not tell him. But I'll wait till after dinner." Tyler promised. "Just don't be surprised if you get a phone call later. Take care, Evan."

He hung up the phone and glanced out of the front window. They were still following the ambulance, weaving in and out of traffic in an attempt to keep up. 

They weren't far from the hospital, and by the time they pulled up to the emergency room, the medics were already pulling Delirious from the ambulance. 

Evan jumped out of the car and jogged over to them. He followed them into the entrance but was almost immediately stopped by a nurse. "Are you family or a friend?"

"A friend I guess. It was my car that hit him." Evan's eyes didn't meet hers until he could no longer see the stretcher.

"Only family is allowed back there right now. But you seem like a nice man and I promise I'll keep you updated on his condition." She was an older woman, with warm eyes and a kind smile. "I'm sure he'll be just fine. Go sit in the waiting room." 

Evan nodded and followed the signs for the ER waiting room. It was packed, but he managed to find a seat in the corner of the room. He took out his phone and played a few games while he waited. 

"Evan!" He looked up sharply, expecting to see a nurse or a doctor, but instead saw his friend and bodyguard. 

Marcel sat next to him with a sad smile. "Tyler told me what happened. Are you okay? Any news?"

Evan shook his head and eyed his watch. He didn't realize how long he'd been sitting there. It's been nearly two hours. 

"Jesus man. You give me one day off and you go and hit a homeless man with your car." Evan knew he was just trying to lighten the mood, but Evan was so worried about Delirious that he couldn't do much but offer a small, sad smile. Marcel nudged his shoulder. "Hey, I'm sure he's fine."

And while that was part of the problem, Evan couldn't shake the feeling that he knew the other man, like they had met before. He just couldn't place it. 

An attractive doctor walked through the door then, and headed straight for the pair. 

"Are you Evan?" He asked, hand scratching his red beard. 

Evan stood. "Yes. How is he? Is he okay?"

"Jonathan will be fine. His femur is practically shattered so he will need a few reconstructive surgeries to get it right again. Even then it will be most likely that he walks with a limp for the rest of his life." 

"I'm sorry, Jonathan?" 

The doctor gave him a sad smile. "Come with me." He led them through the doors and down a couple of hallways until they reached an elevator. Stepping in, he pushed the button for the third floor. He waited until the doors were closed before he resumed speaking. 

"About five years ago, a man was rushed into the ER with significant brain trauma. He'd been in a car accident that left his mother and sister dead. He was lucky to make it out alive. But it wasn't without loss. His long term memory function was severely damaged in the accident. He didn't know who he was, or what had happened. He didn't even realize that he'd had a mother or sister." The elevator stopped and they continued on down a long hallway.

"Why are you telling us this?" Evan was immensely confused. "Isn't this against patient-doctor confidentiality?"

The doctor nodded. "Yes, but it's something you need to know if you plan on continuing with your stubborn attempt to not leave his side. And don't tell me I'm wrong. We had his wallet, so we knew his name and where he was from. But he didn't want to accept it. He wanted to start fresh, have a new name and a new life. I've been Jonathan...excuse me...Delirious' doctor for five years now. The only memories he has are the ones that occurred after the accident."

They stopped outside of a closed door and Evan was anxious to go in and see Delirious. 

But he was still mildly confused. The doctor took pity on him. "In his wallet, there was a picture of two boys, probably around 13 or 14. One was obviously Delirious. And the other...well let's just say that you don't look very different from when you were a child, Evan. I recognized you almost immediately." 

"Am I the only one who's confused as fuck?" Marcel said suddenly. 

Evan was frozen on the spot. Jonathan...the doctor had said that name numerous times already. Is it possible that it was the same person? That it was the same boy who Evan lost all those years ago? The first and last person that Evan had ever loved?

The doctor pulled out his own wallet and removed a folded Polaroid. He handed it to Evan, who took it with shaking hands. Sure enough, it was him and Jonathan, taken on his fourteenth birthday. 

Tears prickled the back of his eyes and he closed them to prevent them from falling. He wasted no more time in opening the door. His gaze fell upon the sleeping man and his breath caught in his throat. 

It really was Jonathan. His Jonathan. 

He was clean now, his hair brushed back to reveal his sharp cheekbones and gaunt face. He looked like he hadn't eaten in days. 

Evan wasn't surprised that he couldn't recognize him while he laid in pain on the street. But now, the longer he stared the more he was positive that it was the same man. The man who stole his heart when he moved to North Carolina twenty years earlier and never gave it back. 

He choked on a sob and Marcel's arm wrapped comfortingly around his shoulders. 

He wouldn't remember him. He's lost all of their memories together. 

"He gets snippets now and then." The doctor was saying quietly from the doorway. "He'll remember little things, like where he went to school, or the name of his dog. We were working hard for him to get them back. But he up and disappeared one day. He stopped coming to appointments. It's like he gave up. This is the first time I've seen him in a year and a half."

Evan couldn't bring himself to look away from the bed, afraid that this was all some dream and Jonathan would just disappear. 

"Maybe you're the answer we were looking for. I can't promise that he'll ever regain his memories. It's been too long and the treatment hasn't been steady. But he needs somebody to help him, Evan. And judging by your reaction, I can't imagine you'll let it fall to anyone else." 

Evan couldn't argue. The minute he saw Jonathan, he knew that he would never let him out of his sight again. "What if he doesn't want help? What if he won't go with me?"

"You have to try. I'll leave you all alone now. If you have any questions, give me a call." A card was placed in his hand and he took a quick glance at the name. 

"Thank you, Dr. Patterson."

"Call me Luke." He said kindly. "To be honest, I can't believe it was you that stumbled on him today. God was looking out for him."

Evan scoffed. "Right. We just stumbled on him. More like mowed him down."

"Semantics. You're here now." Luke closed the door and left the two friends in the dark of the room. 

"This is so weird." Marcel said. "So you hit some homeless man, and that man turns out to be your best friend from when you were kids? And he just so happened to have completely lost his memory?" He looked around the room. "Where the fuck are the cameras? This is a movie, right?"

"I'm in as much shock as you are, Marcel." Evan said quietly. He made his way to the chair on the side of the bed and sat down. He gently grabbed Jonathan's hand and entwined their fingers. "Tyler is going to have a conniption. He heard me grope about Jon for 5 years until I finally accepted that I'd never see him again."

"That's right, I forgot you've know Tyler since the beginning of time." Marcel rolled his eyes. "Want me to tell him? Or should I leave that up to you?"

"I'll call him later. He's at dinner with Craig." And besides, Evan wanted some time to gather his thoughts about the whole situation. Marcel understood the unspoken message. 

"I'll be out in the hallway then. Holler if you need me." He left the room. 

Evan had plenty of room in his penthouse apartment. Jonathan, if he agreed, would stay with him. He'd make sure he went to every appointment, every procedure. He'd stay by his side the whole time and while he hoped he would get his memory back, he wouldn't force it. Even if Jonathan never remembered him or what they had, Evan was positive he wanted to make new memories with him. 

His mind was made up. Now only if he could get the other man to agree. He remembered how stubborn he could be. 

"Evan?" Jonathan's eyes were barely open, but Evan could see the blue peeking out from under the eyelids. 

"Hey, Delirious. How're you feeling?" He squeezed his hand. 

"Like I got hit by a bus. Thanks for that." Delirious said, groaning loudly. 

"That's a little dramatic, don't you think? You're the one who ran out in front of a car." Evan said playfully. 

"To save a dog." Delirious fully opened his eyes now and smirked at Evan. 

Evan was immediately transported to when he was 14, and he was dragging his giggling boyfriend around the mall. He shook his head clear of the thought. This might be the same body, but it was no longer the same person. 

"Let me get the nurse." He made to get up but Delirious tugged his hand.

"Wait...just...stay for a while, okay?"

Evan nodded and settled back in. He moved his thumb up and down the other's hand, and Delirious smiled gratefully. It was a few more minutes before Evan could hear a light snoring and saw that he had fallen asleep again. 

He made plans to call his housekeeper and have her make up the guest bedroom in his apartment.


	3. Gone and Forgotten

Evan was getting coffee when his phone rang again. He took his time answering it, knowing exactly who it was and what they wanted. He had half a mind to let it go to voicemail, but decided against it as it would give the person all they needed to randomly show up at the hospital demanding answers. 

And Evan didn't feel like sharing Jonathan at the moment. 

"How was dinner?" He asked as a greeting. 

"Don't you dare, Evan Fong. I'm furious at you." Craig said heatedly. "You get into a car accident and then tell Tyler not to tell me until _after _dinner? _And don't you dare laugh, Tyler because I'm pissed at you too." _____

Evan had a theory that the moment Craig and Tyler got married, Craig took it upon himself to feel responsible for his husband's best friend. Not that Evan wasn't grateful, but he already had a mother. "I'm sorry. I didn't want to ruin your evening when I had everything under control here."

"Is the man okay?"

"He'll be okay. His femur is shattered and he needs to have a few surgeries before he can even think about walking again. I've met his doctor and he seems pretty capable." Evan looked towards the closed door of Jonathan's room, where the other man was still sound asleep. "But he's been a good sport. Seeing as how it was my car that ran him over, he doesn't seem to want me to leave."

"And you? How are you?"

Evan scrubbed his face with his free hand. He could lie, and say he was fine. He could say that he just felt guilty and wanted to make sure the man would live. He could lie and say that he just felt responsible for the hospital bills. But Craig would see right through him. 

Instead, he asked to speak to Tyler. 

There was a shuffle on the other side, and a whispered, " _Tyler, I swear..."_

"What's up, dude?"

Evan hesitated. "Do you remember Jonathan from middle school?"

"Quiet Jonathan? With the crazy laugh? The one who left the summer after 8th grade and you didn't fucking shut up about until after graduation? Of course I remember Jonathan." Tyler said sarcastically. "I wonder what that guy's been up to...oh no. No fucking way."

Tyler was never really quick on the uptake but he surprised Evan with how swiftly he managed to grasp what was going on. 

"Are you fucking kidding me, Fong? What the fuck kind of life do you lead that always makes it look like a goddamn movie?" 

Evan laughed. "Marcel said the same thing."

"Where is that asshole? He didn't tell me any of this when I called him an _hour _ago." Tyler remarked.__

Marcel was currently laid out on the bench in the hallway, snoring loudly with a line of drool leaking from the corner of his mouth. Evan placed the phone near enough so Tyler could hear the snores. 

"Son of a bitch!" He yelled loudly. "He has one job."

"Right, because I have a large need for a bodyguard in the middle of a hospital wing." Evan rolled his eyes. 

"I'm coming up there right now." And Evan could hear Craig in the background say, "Smartest thing you've said all night."

"Don't be ridiculous. It's 11 o'clock at night. Go home and I'll be in the office tomorrow to tell you everything. In fact, why don't we three meet for lunch tomorrow and I'll explain. There are some things I need to take care of." 

"Jesus Christ, Evan. I know exactly what that means. Don't tell me you're planning on taking this guy _in. _"__

"I'll see you tomorrow." And he hung up the phone. He stifled a yawn as he headed back into the room. He was fucking exhausted. All he wanted was to go home, take a shower, and pass out in his bed. 

But he didn't want to just leave. He didn't want Jonathan to wake up with no one there. 

"You look like death." The voice startled him. 

"I wasn't the one who got hit by a car a few hours ago." He responded fluidly. 

Delirious grinned. "We just gonna keep reminding me?"

"You're laying in a hospital bed with a cast on your leg." Evan pointed out as he settled back in the chair. "Don't you think that's reminder enough?"

"Yada, yada." 

Evan grabbed his hand. "You should be sleeping."

"I woke up in pain." 

"Let me get your nurse." Evan said quickly. 

Delirious waved his remote around. "I got a call bell for a reason." He placed it down and stared at their joined hands. "Look, Evan, you don't have to stay. I get it if you feel responsible but you don't know me and I don't know you. I'll be fine."

Evan's heart constricted in his chest. Even after what the doctor said, he held out a bit of hope that Jonathan would recognize him. 

"It's not that...look, I do feel a responsibility to make sure you're looked after and cared for to the highest degree. But it's more than that and I promise I'll explain it to you when you get out of here..."

Delirious' face took on a hard look, as if he suddenly understood something. "I'm not the same person you knew."

Evan's jaw dropped. Did he remember him? "How..."

"I can tell by the look on your face. You think you know me, who I am...who I was. I know Luke probably told you everything. He's pretty protective of me and would never have let you get this far if he didn't think you'd try to help me." Delirious removed his hand and placed it in his lap. "That's why I stopped going to therapy. Luke always had this look...like he had so much hope I was going to suddenly remember my life before the accident. I didn't want to let him down...let him know that I don't think they're ever coming back. And now you, a complete stranger, suddenly takes so much interest in me. Even if it was your car that hit me, most people of your stature would just sign off on the hospital bills and never think about it again."

"A man of my stature...?"

"I know a rich man when I see one." Delirious raised an eyebrow. "You have a driver."

"I don't see..."

He cut him off again. "That's not what's important. You act like you know me and you might have, in another life. But I'm not him. I'm not Jonathan. I'm Delirious. I have been for 5 years now."

"Can I speak now, if you're quite done?" Evan was growing exasperated. "Yes, I knew you before your...accident. And that is a portion of why I'm sticking around. But I'm not expecting you to suddenly regain your memories and remember me. I'm here because I give a shit about your well being and I want to make sure you're okay."

"So you're not staying just because you knew me before?"

"No, you imbecile." Evan said fondly. "Do I wish you remembered me, yes. I won't lie to you about that. And I don't know much about amnesia, or how difficult it must be for you. Doesn't mean I don't care. I've already arranged for you to stay with me..."

"No way. Absolutely not." Delirious was shaking his head vehemently. 

"Yes way. Where else are you going to go? Don't tell me you have a place." Evan said when he noticed Jonathan was about to argue again. "I have a spare bedroom, and I can make sure you go to all of your appointments."

"I can't ask you to do that, Evan. It's too much..."

"Too bad. It's already happening. Look, it's been a long day. You need to rest and I need a shower. We can talk about this more tomorrow. And if you don't want to talk about the amnesia, that's fine too. But don't fight this, Delirious." Evan stood. "I know you can't run away." He joked with a gesture to his cast. "I'll be back tomorrow."

He left the room with a sputtering Delirious behind him. He woke Marcel up by smacking him in the back of the head. 

"Wha..."

"Take me home, yeah? We both have an early day tomorrow." He left his number with the nurses' station with instructions to call him if anything came up. 

By the time he got home, Evan didn't even have the energy to put clothes on after his shower and fell onto his bed nude. He was asleep within seconds.  
______  
The next morning, Larry dropped him off in front of his building into the waiting arms of Marcel. 

"Tyler's already waiting for you." He said as a greeting. 

Evan looked at his watch with surprise. "But it's before 7?" In all the time that they'd been working together, Tyler had _never _beaten Evan to the office. He was usually in by a quarter past 8, a steaming Starbucks clutched in his hand and a look on his face that screamed "don't talk to me until I'm finished with my fucking coffee".__

Sure enough, as Evan walked into his lavish office, Tyler was laid on his leather couch, eyes closed and coffee cup in his hands. 

"About goddamn time." Tyler muttered. 

"Why are you here so early?" Evan asked as he placed his briefcase on the desk. 

"Craig had me up for some early morning..."

Evan held his hand up. "I don't need to hear anymore."

Tyler sat up with a laugh. "You asked."

"Not about _that _..."__

"You know why I'm here. Want to tell me what's going on?" Tyler placed his elbows on his knees.

"I told you that I'd tell you and Craig at lunch." Evan raised an eyebrow. "Is that really why you got here early?"

"A ghost from 20 years ago randomly shows up...color me curious." He shrugged but stood. "Oh Brian and Brock are in town, by the way. I told them we could all do dinner while they're here." He clapped Evan on the shoulder before walking towards the door. 

"You know I'm going to expect you early every day now!" He called after him. 

"You ain't my boss, bitch!" Tyler shouted over his shoulder, accompanied by a one finger salute. 

Evan chucked to himself and sat in his chair. They'd been partners for nearly 7 years, and friends for 30. He was a good man, and an even better friend. But he certainly had his moments. 

Evan settled in for the long day ahead of him. The first thing he did was call the hospital and ask about Jonathan. Once he was satisfied that the man would be receiving the best treatment, he decided to do some research.  
______  
"Retrograde amnesia?" Craig questioned as they sat together at the bistro on the corner by their building. 

Evan nodded. "It's caused by serious head traumas."

"So he has no memories from before 5 years ago?" Tyler asked. 

"None. From what I understand, there must have been significant damage to his hippocampus that caused the long term memory loss." Evan told them. "They say that there is usually recovery of your memories, but it hasn't happened. I don't know if it's because he's stopped going to therapy or if the damage was really that complete." 

"So now what? You're gonna take him in? Feed him, clothe him, make him fall in love with you again?" 

Evan shot Tyler an unimpressed look. "We were 14, Tyler. We didn't know what love was."

"Don't give me that bullshit." Tyler pointed a fork dangerously at him. "You have been pining after him since the day he left. I've known you for 30 years, Evan."

"I've dated..." 

"Right...dated." Craig scoffed. "Tyler and I have been together for 10 years and in all that time, I've seen you in 2 serious relationships. There was Sydney and...help me out, babe..."

"Tom." Tyler supplied. 

Craig snapped his fingers. "Right! Tom."

Evan sighed. "Regardless, guys, he was my best friend. And I'm not going to just let him go back to the streets. I have plenty of room and money isn't an issue..."

"Have you thought about it being an issue to him?" Craig asked. 

"I...no...but that's not the point." He was becoming exasperated. "If staying with me will help him get his memories back..."

"I heard that wasn't true." Tyler said, mouth full of fries. Craig elbowed him to remind him that he was a grown man with _manners _, for Christ sake. "Sorry," he swallowed and continued. "In college, there was that kid...Abe, I think. Remember that night he fell off the roof of our house? He was in a coma for like 3 days. He had no clue who he was when he woke up. They tried to bring back the memories by telling him stories of his life, showing him pictures...nada. Three weeks later, it's like he never lost them at all."__

"I don't know how scientific that is..." Craig started. 

"No, I remember in psych class, my professor was talking about it." Tyler was getting more animated by the second. "He said something about how that the...reminder treatment is what it's called; how that had no scientific bearings to reverse amnesia. There's been studies and everything." 

"I think Tyler's right. When I was doing research this morning and I remember reading that most patients with retrograde amnesia due to head trauma will have something called a spontaneous recovery." Evan said. 

"Ev, I just don't want you to get your hopes up." Craig said gently. "It's been 5 years. If they haven't come back yet..."

"Look that's not even why..." Evan pushed his burger away, no longer hungry. "I just want to make sure he's okay. Like I said, he was my best friend. And even if he doesn't remember me now, doesn't mean that I can forget. I don't care if we ever get together like that, as long as I have him in my life again." 

Evan ignored the look that the couple shared and checked his phone. The hospital called. 

"I'll be right back." He excused himself and walked out to the street before calling the number back. 

"Hello?"

Evan recognized the voice as Jonathan's. "Hey, Delirious, how're you feeling?"

"The have me on some good pain meds, that's for sure." The resounding giggle put a smile on Evan's face. "I hope you don't mind that I called you. I got the number from the nurse..."

"You can call me whenever you want." Evan assured him. "Is something wrong?"

"No...I was...I was just thinking about your offer. Well, not so much an offer as a demand." He said pointedly. "But I'll do it. I won't like it, but I'll do it. I want to start my therapy sessions again, and if I ever want a chance to walk again, I'll need to actually have a stable place to live and a way to get to my appointments."

"Well I'm glad you've started to see reason."

"And there's something else...I know you think you know me..."

"We've been through this..."

Delirious stopped him. "I need to get this out. I know you think you know me, and maybe you did in the past, but I can't get my hopes up that I'll ever remember who I was. That I'll ever remember Jonathan. And I don't want you to, either. I'll go to my sessions with Luke, I'll try. But I want to start fresh with you, okay? I know it's a lot to ask of you...but to me we're still strangers, yeah?"

"Yeah. Though don't you think we can begrudgingly call us friends at this point?" Evan asked playfully. "I'll respect your decision, Delirious. And I'll try not to get my hopes up. But I can't promise that. If you don't want to talk about Jonathan, we don't have to."

"Thank you." He said with a relieved sigh. "Really, thank you. For everything."

"I'm the reason you're there to begin with. You shouldn't be thanking me." Evan said, voice heavy. 

"Maybe, but there aren't many people who would do this for someone they don't know...or used to know, I guess. Fuck this is confusing." Evan was almost positive he was furrowing his brows, like he used to when they were in middle school and he was confused at a math equation. 

"Like you said, we're starting over. I'll come by after work with pizza and we can get to know each other then. Sound good?"

"Yeah, alright. Sounds good."


	4. Strangers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a long time, But I'm going to try to stay on track with this, guys. I am going to try my damndest.

Delirious hated the pain, but he hated the way the pain medicine made him feel even worse. It made him excruciatingly nauseous, and he felt like he didn’t have control of his mental facilities when he was on it. Like for instance, he just agreed to let a complete stranger take care of him for the unforeseeable future. He shoved a pillow over his face and screamed. What the fuck was he thinking?

Ever since he’d lost his memories, he’d not accepted any help: hadn’t needed to and hadn’t wanted to. Even when Luke offered his home to him, Delirious had begrudgingly accepted, only to appease the other man before bolting and living on the streets. He had survived by himself: making money where he could, doing things he’d rather forget, eating questionable things, and sleeping wherever was warm. But he did those things by himself, and for himself, without anyone’s help. 

He was Delirious. He wasn’t Jonathan. He had to start over. Luke was trying to bring Jonathan back and Delirious wasn’t sure he wanted him back; wasn’t sure he wanted the memories of the accident, wanted memories of his family, and of who he was before. He wasn’t sure he wanted to bring back the pain that would come with those memories.

And now this Evan guy: he thought he knew Delirious, but he didn’t know the first thing about him. He knew Jonathan, but in what capacity, Delirious didn’t know. Was he a friend? Was he a past lover? He certainly looked at him like he was. Delirious wasn’t blind. He saw the way that Evan watched him, like he was a breath of fresh air in an otherwise polluted room. And Delirious was ready to hit himself for jumping down that rabbit hole with the other man.

But there was something about him that made Delirious curious for the first time about his former life. He wasn’t stupid. He knew it was a very slim chance he’d ever get his memories back, and the people who knew him the most had apparently died in the crash. But maybe Evan had some insight to who he was before all of this.

No. Jonathan was dead. Jonathan died with his mother and sister in that car accident five years ago. Delirious took his place. Delirious is who he was now. And sure, Delirious still got snippets of memories from his former life, and he was still going to try, just like he promised Luke and Evan, but the past five years weren’t going to go away. He was still going to be Delirious, and Jonathan was going to still be another person. And the sooner both of them realized it, the sooner all of them would be better off. 

This is why he left the last time. The look of hope on the face of his friend shook him to the core and he couldn’t take seeing the disappointment there. And he knew he couldn’t take seeing that look on Evan’s face. 

He could just leave right now. Ask the nurse for crutches to go to the bathroom and get the fuck out of dodge. He’d done it before. He’s excellent at running away.

Evan’s voice sounded in his head. “I’ll respect your decision, Delirious.” 

“Well, fuck.” Delirious groaned loudly. He wasn’t going to run away. He wasn’t lying when he told Evan that he wanted to try. Evan made him want to. And the dark spiraling thoughts, Delirious knew, were just a part of him coming down from the pain medications. Besides, even if he did want to run away, he wasn’t going anywhere on his shattered leg. 

He felt Luke’s presence before he heard him, his senses finely tuned from his years alone on the streets. “I’m refusing pain medication.”

“You can’t refuse pain medication, Delirious.” Luke told him as he checked his monitor for his stats. “You’ll be miserable.”

“I’m miserable now. I fucking hate being on them and I hate coming off of them.” 

“Imagine the amount of pain you’d be in if you weren’t on them.” He raised an eyebrow at his friend. “I’ll reduce them and add a nausea medication with it. But trust me, you need them.”

“I hate you.” Delirious tried.

“No you don’t.” Luke sat on the foot of his bed. “Did the orthopedic surgeon come in this morning?”

Delirious rolled his eyes. “First surgery is tomorrow.”

Luke nodded. “Yes. And depending on how it goes, I can get you out of here two days after. What’s your plan?”

Delirious picked at the edge of his blanket nervously. “I’m going to live with Evan, I guess. He said he would get me to my appointments and my surgeries. I guess he feels responsible.”

“I think it’s a little more than that and you know it.” Delirious shot him a glare and Luke held up his hands in surrender. “It’s dropped. Just stick with it. I’m glad you’re going to let him do this for you. You don’t have to tackle everything by yourself. For god sake you got hit by a car: his car.”

Delirious didn’t feel like having this conversation anymore. It was always the same thing. He just wanted to talk about something else: news that he’s missed, movies that have come out, hell, even video games that he hadn’t had the opportunity to play. Right now though, he just wanted to sleep.

“If the new medication schedule doesn’t work I swear to god I’m fighting the nurses and coming after you with the needle, shattered leg or not.” He pulled the blanket hard enough to dislodge Luke from his bed. The other man just sighed and nodded before leaving the room. Delirious barely had time to feel badly before he was drifting into a fitful sleep. 

 

 

Evan had just gotten off of the phone with an investor when his assistant informed him that there was someone from IT waiting for him. He told her to send him in as he checked the time and realized it was right on schedule for their weekly meeting.

“Hey there, boss man.” The tall Irishman started as he strolled into the office and sat in one of Evan’s plush armchairs across from his desk. “How goes it?”

“Hello, Nogla. It goes.” Evan grinned at his friend. David (or Nogla as he was affectionately dubbed) was head of their IT department and a good friend of his and Tyler’s. When they had started up the company, he had been essential in setting up the network and security systems. They couldn’t think of anyone better to help them keep the company in tip-top shape, and named him head of operations down in the bunker (IT). 

Nogla dropped a stack of papers on his desk. “Everything is running great. Had a few attempted hacks over the weekend but the system was able to route them out and trace the source. Seems like everyone wants a piece of that zombie game.” He leaned forward. “Speaking of which…”

Evan sighed. “As soon as we get the beta, you know you’ll be the first on the list to try it.”

Nogla grinned, rubbing his hands together. “That’s why I love you, you beautiful man.”

“What about the corrupt files we talked about last week?”

“Everything sorted itself out. I ran the standard tests. Tyler’s computer had a minor bug, nothing too drastic and it wasn’t placed there by anyone. Must have been downloaded by a non-descript site. I removed it and was able to save the files. No one saw them and they weren’t downloaded outside or inside of our own server. Maybe he just visited one too many porn sites.” He laughed at his own joke and even Evan couldn’t help but smile.

“Well, good. I’m glad that’s been handled. Thanks, Nogla.” Evan was relieved. He knew when he hired Nogla that he’d be the best man for the job.

“Yeah, man. No problem. I, uh, have one more thing I need to talk to you about.” Nogla said, suddenly serious. 

Evan rolled his eyes. He had known this was coming. “Just fill out the paperwork, Daithi. It’s protocol. You know I don’t care. And make sure you go tell Tyler. He’s been placing bets for weeks.”

Nogla sputtered. “Ye knew? Ye bastards knew?” Evan laughed at how his accent grew more prominent.

“Of course we knew. You two aren’t very subtle. Especially when I see Lui sneaking off to the bunker or you bringing him lunch to R&D.” Evan grinned. “Like I said, just fill out the fraternization paperwork and everything will be good to go. And Daithi, I’m happy for you guys.”

“You’re still a prick, Evan.” Nogla said, standing up. “But thank you. I’ll fill out the paperwork with him tonight.”

“Remember…”

“I’ll go talk to him now.” Nogla rolled his eyes before heading out of the office. Tyler’s was just next door so Evan turned to his computer and shot off a message through their interoffice messaging system.

To Tyler Johnson: Irish incoming

The next thing Evan heard from the wall separating the two offices was, “I fucking knew it!” followed by two bangs and “Pay up, Fong!”

“I was never in on your stupid bet in the first place, Johnson!” He yelled back.

“I hate all of ye!” Nogla yelled from the hallway as he stomped back to the bunker.

Evan shook his head as he got back to work. He still had a few more hours to go before he would be able to leave. Then he could head home and change before taking his own car to the get a pizza and visit Delirious at the hospital. 

He had wanted to call the man again, to see how he was feeling, but he didn’t want to seem overbearing. They had just spoken after lunch, a mere three hours prior. Evan had already set up a bedroom in his house, and arranged for Larry to be available to take him to his appointments. He knew it wasn’t going to be easy; in fact, it was going to be an enormous adjustment for the both of them. 

Evan needed to let go of Jonathan. He knew that. The boy he knew was gone. Even if Delirious hadn’t have lost his memories, that fact would still be true. Twenty years is a long time to change a person: and five years of trauma and living on the streets is enough time to completely form a whole new kind of human being. So no, Evan didn’t really know the man that was currently lying in the hospital. They were strangers, just like Delirious had said. But he didn’t want them to be.

At five, Evan stopped by Research and Development to drop the fraternization paperwork on Lui’s desk. The smaller man squeaked in surprise before looking up from his work. “I need these by tomorrow, Lui.” he said with a wink.

Lui grinned and saluted him. “Sir, yes, sir.” He said in a high pitched voice.

Larry was waiting for him at the front of the building. He nodded his hello as he held open the door for him. Evan settled into the backseat, hyper aware of his surroundings. He didn’t want a repeat of the night before, and from the looks of Larry’s cautious driving, neither did he. 

Once he got home, he changed out of his suit and put on his favorite pair of jeans and a red sweater. He also grabbed a pair of sweatpants, underwear, and a t-shirt for Delirious. He was sure the other man was tired of being in a hospital gown. He brought the pants into the kitchen and searched his drawers for a pair of scissors. Starting just above the knee, he cut the leg of the pants off, making it easier for Delirious to wear them with the cast. The cut wasn’t pretty, but it would do the job. Satisfied with his work, he grabbed his keys and left the penthouse, making his way to the garage that held his black Ferrari. It was the latest model, with yellow trimming. Tyler liked to call it his bumblebee car, but Evan preferred to consider it his own Batmobile.

He stopped at his favorite pizzeria, and ordered a large pepperoni pizza before heading to the hospital. He smiled at the nurses, who all waved at him, a grateful lilt in their eyes. Evan wondered if Delirious had been difficult that day.

“I come bearing pizza.” He said as he entered the room. Delirious was sitting up in bed, playing absentmindedly with the T.V. remote.

“It better be pepperoni.” The man said as he shut the T.V. off and set the remote down next to him. 

“As if I would get anything different.” Evan scoffed. He placed the pizza on Delirious’ tray and sat down in the chair next to his bed. “So, how many nurses did you torture today?”

“I may have threatened one or two with a needle.” Jonathan replied nonchalantly, opening the box and taking a slice. “I really hate pain meds.”

Evan laughed. “You can’t threaten nurses, man. And you need the meds. They’re going to help you.”

“Luke said the same thing.” Delirious grumbled. “Right before I threatened to stab him too.”

“You are something else.” Evan shook his head fondly, grabbing his own slice. “I brought you some clothes. Didn’t think you’d want to be in that gown any longer.”

Delirious swallowed his bite of pizza. “You are a godsend. I feel like a fucking chick in this thing. And my dick is free to the public.”

Evan blushed. “Well we can't have that. I’ll help you change when we get done eating.”

“I’m going into my first surgery tomorrow afternoon: for my leg.” Delirious told him. “I guess they’re going to start at the bottom; put some bolts and screws in. Pretty soon I’ll be the bionic man.”

“I’ll come by before they take you in.” Evan said.

“You don’t have to do that, Evan.” 

“I want to.” Evan insisted. “Besides, I can bring my work with me and route all of my calls to my cell phone. I want to be here when you wake up from surgery.”

“Luke said if all goes well I can leave two days afterwards.” Delirious said.

“That’s great! I already have your room set up and ready to go. You’ll love the bed. I’m pretty sure it’s even better than mine.” Evan informed him with a grin.

Delirious blushed mildly. “Uh...I can’t wait.”

They fell into a comfortable silence, eating pizza and watching as patients and nurses walked by the door. 

“So, you never told me what you did.”

Evan turned to Delirious, startled. The question came out of nowhere, and the other man wasn’t even looking at him. He was still watching the nurses’ station just outside of his door.

“What?”

“You know, what do you do for a living?” Delirious shrugged. “You obviously have money. Is it inherited? Or are you some big bad gang boss? Do you have bodies in your trunk that I should be worried about? I mean I’ll keep your secrets, just gotta know what I’m getting myself into here.”

Evan laughed, actually laughed. “Gang boss? Have you been sitting here coming up with scenarios all day?”

“Pretty much.”

“No, Delirious. I’m not a gang boss. And I didn’t inherit my money. My best friend and I started a game development company about ten years ago.” Evan told him. “We own Games Inc.”

“No shit? I’ve slept in your dumpster before.” Delirious said, and Evan didn’t laugh at his attempt at a joke. Delirious must have noticed this because he put his hands up. “Okay, no homeless jokes. Got it. Okay, so video game company? What are you guys working on?” 

“It’s a zombie game. But we can’t figure out how to make it different from the other games on the market right now. All of our focus groups have come back okay, but not great.” Evan told him.

“What about a first-person zombie game?” Delirious asked.

“What do you mean?”

“What if the player is the zombie? And they are the ones hunting the hunters? Or better yet, why not have a mode where you can play as either one? Single player and multiplayer?” Delirious suggested. “I’d play the hell out of that.”

Evan gaped. “Holy shit. Delirious, that’s amazing. This is just what we needed!”

Delirious grinned. “Glad I could help.”

“Mind if I call Tyler and tell him?” 

Delirious motioned for him to carry on and Evan pulled out his cell phone. Placing it on speaker, he called Tyler’s number. “Sup?”

“Yo, you still at the office?” Evan asked.

“No, I am not still at the office. I was there before your dumb ass was even there this morning. I left at four. What do you need?” Tyler responded.

“I’m at the hospital with Delirious. You’re on speakerphone. He just had a great idea about the game.” Evan held out the phone to Delirious and he looked at him expectantly. Delirious sighed before telling him the idea.

“Jesus fucking Christ. How did we not think of that?” Tyler asked. “That’s fucking genius. Imagine all the people who will love being the zombies? We were planning on rating it mature anyway, and we can make it first person, so the blood and guts animation will be crucial. We’ll talk to the developers tomorrow and hopefully we can get a focus group in the office next week. Need a job, Delirious? Once you’re all healed up, of course. We could use someone like you in R&D.”

Delirious looked uncomfortably at the phone, so Evan stepped in. “Let’s not get too ahead of ourselves. The plan sounds great, Ty. Set the meeting up in the calendar and we’ll get started.” 

“Will do. Hey take me off of speakerphone. I have to talk to you about something.”

Evan did as he was told and put the phone to his ear. “What’s up?”

“He sounds the fucking same. I can’t even wrap my head around it.” Tyler was saying.

“I know, man.” Evan said.

“Well, anyway, we’re going to dinner tomorrow with Brock and Brian. So that means you too. I think you need a break from all of this going on.” Tyler reasoned.

“Yeah, okay. I’ll be out of the office in the afternoon, though. He’s got surgery.”

“Alright. I’ll talk to you later. Take care, Ev.” Tyler hung up, and Evan put the phone back in his pocket. 

“Did he know me too?” Delirious asked suddenly.

Evan snapped his head up. “I thought…”

Delirious shook his head. “We’re not. I just...I’m just curious. Did he?”

Evan nodded slowly. “We all knew each other in elementary and middle school.”

Delirious just stared at him, absorbing the information, before he too nodded. “So, gonna help me get into these clothes?”

“Yeah, yeah of course.” Evan made to move around the bed.

“No staring at my junk, pervert!” Delirious scolded as he latched his arms around Evan’s neck, helping him to sit up to a more comfortable position.

Evan laughed. “Wouldn’t dream of it, Delirious.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hit me up on tumblr: 
> 
> bananabus-squadgoals
> 
> -Dani


	5. Friends?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a really long one, so I hope ye enjoy! The rest of the chapters are outlined so the next one shouldn't be terribly far behind.

The next day found Evan in his office, entertaining phone calls from investors and looking over reports from Research and Development. Today was the day of Delirious’ surgery, and he was trying to get as much done as possible now, so he had less to carry and do at the hospital. He had already told his assistant to reroute his calls to his cell phone, and to inform anyone who came to his office that he was out for the rest of the day.

At around eleven, he heard the door slam open, and Evan barely braced himself as a small body came flying into his lap. “Uncle Evan!” He squeezed the small girl tightly, placing a kiss on the top of her head.

“There’s my girl.” He said fondly, looking at her. “Alicia, I missed you.”

The girl, Alicia, grinned up at him. “I missed you too! I asked Daddy if we could come see you first.”

“Before seeing Uncle Tyler? Aly, I’m touched.” He tickled her sides playfully. “Where is your Daddy?” 

“Aly, what did we say about running ahead of us?” Evan looked at the door to see two men enter. 

“Papa, you said I could go see Uncle Evan.” Alicia responded to her father with a pout and puppy dog eyes that Evan has fallen victim to many times before. His seven year old niece had everyone wrapped around her tiny finger. 

Evan stood with Alicia in his arms and hugged two of his best friends. Brian and Brock had been with the company from the beginning, having known Tyler and Evan since college. They were both on the Board of Directors, and ran the international office in Dublin. 

“I didn’t realize you guys were going to come up to the office today. The board meeting isn’t until tomorrow.” Evan told them. 

Brock motioned at their daughter. “We wanted to show her around the city. Except when we asked her where she wanted to go, of course this was her first choice.”

Evan squeezed his niece a little tighter. “Naturally she just wanted to see her favorite uncle.”

“Don’t let Tyler hear you saying that.” Brian said with a laugh. “You know how possessive he gets.”

“Aly and I have it down. Isn’t that right, munchkin?”

She wrinkled her nose. “I’m not a munchkin.”

“Yes you are.” Evan countered. “How was the flight?” he asked the men.

Brian flung himself on Evan’s couch and groaned. “Long and exhausting. Luckily first class doesn’t have crying, screaming children.”

Brock was rolling his eyes at his husband. “The only screaming child that was there was you, babe.”

“Papa doesn’t like flying.” Alicia whispered conspiratorially. “Daddy says it’s because Papa is a big baby.”

Evan laughed. “Oh yeah? Well I’ve known your Papa for a long time, and I can confirm that it’s true.”

“Aly, why are you being so mean to me?” Brian asked, a eerily familiar pout on his own face. 

Alicia wiggled free from Evan’s arms and jumped in her father’s lap. “I love you, Papa.” She kissed his cheek sloppily, and Brian grinned at her. 

“I love you too, baby girl.” He touched his nose gently to hers, and Evan was thrown at just how domestic it all was. In college, Brian was a loud, crass, and horribly dramatic man. He still was all of these things, but it seemed like married life and fatherhood has mellowed him out. Brock on the other hand, was the kind, gentle type. Evan had no doubt he would be a great father as soon as the two shared their news about the surrogate all those years ago. 

Evan threw his arm around Brock’s shoulders. “I’m glad you guys are here. It’s been what? Six months?”

“Give or take.” Brock responded. “Ireland is great but I miss American food so much.”

Evan laughed. “Well, you guys are here for the weekend, right?”

“And you bet your ass I’m having onion rings with every meal.” Brock said. Evan saw him looking fondly at Brian and Alicia, who were whispering suspiciously together. “What’s new, Ev? Tyler told us that you got yourself into quite the situation.”

Evan groaned and moved away to sit back at his desk. “Of course he would. Because Tyler doesn’t know how to keep his mouth shut!” He shouted the last part, hoping that his partner would hear it through the shared wall.

Sure enough, a merely thirty seconds later, Tyler was standing in his doorway. “What the fuck was that, Fong?”

“Watch your mouth,” Brian admonished, his hands covering his daughter’s ears. 

Tyler rolled his eyes. “Right, cause she doesn’t hear worse from you.” But then he knelt down and spread his arms. “Aly!”

Alicia sprinted to Tyler and threw herself in his arms. He caught her and swung her around. “How’s my favorite niece?”

“I’m your only niece.” Alicia said into his neck. 

“Doesn’t make you any less of my favorite.” He winked at her before setting her down. “So what was that, Evan?”

“You told them, didn’t you?” Evan said with a playful glare. “You have a big mouth.”

Tyler shrugged before sitting in the unoccupied chair in front of his desk. “Hey, they need to know that you’ve lost your mind.”

Evan glared for real this time, but Tyler just laughed. 

“Anyone gonna fill us in?” Brian asked.

Evan checked the clock on his desktop. He needed to leave in an hour to head to the hospital. “It’s a long story.”

“We’re here all weekend.” Brock pointed out.

Evan sighed, before glancing at Alicia. “Hey munchkin, want to go see Tom? I bet he has some games that you can try out.”

She squealed and nodded her head furiously. He stood and took her hand. “I’ll be right back. I’m gonna take her down to testing.”

Brock and Brian both told her to behave before Evan led her out of the office. The testing floor was near the bunker, so they got into the elevator and rode down to the second floor. 

Tom, Evan’s friend and ex-boyfriend (though they split on amicable terms), was sitting at his desk, head down and scribbling in a notebook.

“Hey Tom,” Evan greeted.

Tom didn’t look up from his work. “Oh good, you’re here. I was going to come find you actually. Testing for War Games is complete. We’re good to send it to beta now, pending approval from you guys.” The British man said. “Had a few ticks but we were able to get them…” He looked up then, and a grin split his face. “Is that Alicia? My god, you’ve grown up!” 

Aly hugged him tightly. “Hiya, Mr. Tom! Uncle Evan said I could play some games with you!”

“I have just the thing, little one. How much do you like farm animals?” Tom asked her.

Alicia decided to moo as a response, causing both men to laugh at her antics. 

“Come on, my girl. We have a brand new game that needs testing, and I bet you’re just the person to do it!” Tom said. “You leaving her with me for a bit?”

Evan nodded. “Gotta talk to Brian and Brock about a few things. You good?”

Tom nodded. “Yeah man, me and Aly here are going to play some Barnyard Dash.”

Evan patted his shoulder in appreciation. “We’ll come grab her in a bit.”

Tom shooed him away and Evan made his way reluctantly back to his office. Everyone was where he had left them, and Tyler was currently laughing at something Brock had said. 

“I swear to god, the stewardess was about to throw him out of the plane.” Brock was saying.

“I will never be used to flying.” Brian defended. “And that stewardess had it out for me the second we boarded. You saw the way she was looking at you!”

Brock rolled his eyes. “I didn’t, because I was too busy entertaining our daughter. Which we have...together. No need to be jealous, Bri.”

“Not jealous, Brocky: just possessive.” 

“Totally not better.” Tyler commented. He nodded to Evan as he sat in his office chair. “Just ask Evan.”

“I’m firing you.” Evan said playfully.

“As if you had the power.” Tyler snorted. 

“So what’s going on, Evan?” Brock started. “Ty said that you hit a homeless man with your car? And that you’re taking care of him now?”

The asian man sighed before launching into the story. He told them everything, from how he and Jonathan were friends as children, to how now the other man had no recollection of his life before five years ago. He told them that he felt responsible for his health now, and it had nothing to do with how he felt about him all of those years ago.

“Bullshit,” Brian said. “I get that you feel responsible for his medical bills, but you’re nursing him back to health, allowing him into your home. You, my friend, have a lot more invested in this than you’re leading on.”

“That’s what I’ve been saying.” Tyler said smugly.

“Look, I’m not holding out much hope that he’s going to suddenly remember, okay?” Evan ran a hand through his perfectly styled hair. “And even if he did, it wouldn’t change anything. It was a long time ago. We wouldn’t have known each other regardless of his current situation.”

Brock gave him a gentle look. “You’re right: twenty years is a long time. And considering that he doesn’t necessarily _want_ to remember…” He paused and Evan was waiting anxiously for his words. Brock always had a way of making Evan feel better about any situation, whether he was telling him how much of an idiot he was being, or being explicitly on his side. Brock always knew exactly how Evan was feeling, and Evan dearly missed the man when they were away. “I think you’re doing the right thing, but I also think that you may be setting yourself up for failure. You have to look at this from an objective standpoint, Ev. This is a man you haven’t seen in twenty years. He’s had a traumatic experience and even without it, he’d still be a completely different person. But I definitely think he needs a friend. And you may just be the best person for the job. You’re going to make sure that he gets healthy. I can see in your eyes that you think this is going to end a certain way, and you can’t get your hopes up, bud. Just be there for him, help him recover, and if it happens, it happens. But you can’t push it. You also have to consider the possibility that he’ll run again if it gets to be too much.”

Evan nodded slowly. He hadn’t considered that. Would Delirious run? He supposed he would, if he felt overwhelmed. Evan really had to watch what he did, and make sure the other man wasn’t feeling pressured to remember. Evan wanted him in his life, but couldn’t yet expect Delirious to have the same opinion. As far as he knew, he was simply staying with him due to the convenience. 

Regardless if that were true, Evan was going to be his friend. If at the end of the ordeal, Delirious decided that Evan just wasn’t worth his time, he would deal with it.

He knew that his friends were worried about his sanity. They were worried that he’d become too attached and rightfully so. Evan already felt the pangs of separation and was itching to get to the hospital to see him. But they were right.

“My main concern right now is getting him through this shattered leg of his, and to get him back into therapy. To him, I’m still the man that hit him with his car. I’m not going to push him, and I’m not going to force him into something he doesn't want.” With a frown, Evan realized that he, himself, probably wasn’t going to come out of this situation unscathed, but it wasn’t going to stop him. “I’m doing this. And I would appreciate your support. Regardless of who this man was in the past, he’s still a human being. And I’m still responsible for his current situation.”

Tyler and Brian looked mollified and Brock just sent him a nod and supporting smile. “You have it, Ev.”

“Thanks, Brock.” Evan told him. He glanced down at his clock once more and decided that it was time to leave, despite it being twenty minutes earlier than planned. “He has his next surgery today so I’m headed up to the hospital. If you need me, just call me. And let me know where and when we’re having dinner tonight.”

“Burgers,” Brock said quickly and Evan laughed when Brian rolled his eyes. 

“The food in Ireland is not that bad, Brocky. And we _have_ burgers: all of the time.” He said.

Brock gave his husband a pointed look. “Nothing we eat over there compares to the burgers at Jack’s.” Jack’s House was a high end burger joint in downtown LA. Evan had to agree that theirs were the best burgers in the city. 

“Jack’s it is.” Evan conceded. “Tyler, you want to handle reservations?”

The other man was looking at his phone, probably already looking up the number. “I got it. Go on, then. Keep us updated on Jon. To be perfectly honest, we could use him around here.”

Evan had to agree: Delirious’ idea about the zombie game already had the research team chomping at the bit to get started on. Their focus group was scheduled for Wednesday and Evan was positive that it would get positive feedback. 

He packed up his briefcase with his laptop and paperwork that he needed to go over, before standing up and shouldering it. “I’ll let you know how it goes. See you guys tonight.” He left his friends in his office and rode the elevator to the lobby of the building. With a short text to Larry to bring the car around, he decided to give Delirious a call to see how he was holding up.

“They aren’t letting me eat.” the other man groaned after Evan greeted him. 

“That’s because you have surgery in an hour.” Evan said as he saw Larry pull up to the front of the building. He got in the backseat, placing his bag next to him. “The anesthesia will make you sick if you eat.”

“Oh, are you an expert now?”

Evan laughed. “Damn, you’re hangry, huh? I’ll stop and get some food for when you wake up. How does that sound?”

“You are a godsend.” Delirious sighed. “The food here sucks. I could go for a burrito.”

Evan nodded, deciding to stop at the burrito truck that served the best burritos he’s ever had. “No problem. How are you feeling otherwise?”

There was a pause, and Evan figured it was Delirious trying to decide just how much to share. “Nervous, I guess. Never did like hospitals, and avoided surgery at all cost. Hell, I didn’t get my wisdom teeth out for a year just because I didn’t want to go under.”

Evan’s eyes widened. How did he know that? “Did you...did you remember that?”

“What?” Delirious sounded genuinely confused. “I...I guess I did. But it’s not like a memory, if that makes any sense. It’s more like it’s just common knowledge. Fuck, I’m opting for a brain transplant.”

“More surgery?” Evan laughed.

“Easier than trying to make sense of what the fuck is going on with my head.” He said bitterly. 

Evan frowned. He had no idea of what Delirious was going through, but he knew that it couldn’t be easy. “I’ll be there in ten minutes. If you want, I can distract you with some game ideas we have in the works. You can help me out and let me know if they sound shitty.”

“I miss video games. I used to play all the time when I was at Luke’s.”

“Well I have every system you could want at the apartment.” Evan wasn’t trying to brag, but in his line of work, he had to keep up with the systems and the competition as far as games were concerned. That, and he just really loved to play video games.

“Looks like this arrangement won’t be such a bust then.” Delirious teased. “I guess I’ll see you soon.”

Evan hung up and leaned his head against the headrest. He honestly felt for the other man and the confusion he must feel every day. What would it be like to feel like a stranger in your own body?

Larry pulled up to the hospital and Evan shouldered his bag again before climbing out. He left Larry with instructions to keep his phone on him, before walking into the pristine hospital and up to the third floor. When he entered Delirious’ room, the other man was tapping his hand against his thigh with a nervous energy, eyes glued to the TV but not really watching. His head turned sharply at his entrance, and the look on his face reminded Evan of a man waiting for the executioner to come collect him from his cell. 

“You do know you’re going to survive this surgery, right?” Evan commented as he placed his bag on the floor besides the chair.

“Shit happens, man.” Delirious muttered briefly. “Aren’t you supposed to be distracting me?”

“Ah,” Evan said, pulling out his laptop and putting it on the bed. “What’s your opinion about horror games?”

Delirious grinned manically. “Are you kidding? That’s all I played at Luke’s when I stayed with him. What do you got?” Evan showed him the model of a game they were thinking about showcasing at their next convention and the two talked about that, and other games for the next half an hour until a nurse came strolling into the room.

“Jonathan Smith?” She asked, a pretty smile adorning her face as she checked her clipboard.

“Actually, it’s Delirious.” Delirious corrected quickly.

She frowned at her chart, confused. “Oh, I must have gone to the wrong room.”

Evan watched Delirious sigh and run a hand through his hair in frustration. “You’re in the right room. I just don’t go by that name anymore.”

If possible, the nurse looked even more confused, but she continued on. “Um, okay. Well I’m the nurse anesthetist, Cathy, and I’m going to be in the operating room with you. I just have a few pre-op questions for you before we take you down. Is that okay?” Delirious motioned for her to continue and she nodded quickly. “Have you ever had an adverse reactions to waking up from anesthesia?”

“I don’t...I don’t know.” Delirious said uncomfortably. 

Evan was aggravated. Shouldn’t all of this be in his chart? Don’t they know that Delirious has amnesia and wouldn’t know the answers to some of these questions? Unfortunately, he wasn’t sure if it was appropriate in their still timid friendship to speak up, despite the uneasy look on Delirious’ face.

But he didn’t have to worry long, as Luke chose that moment to enter the room. He took one look at the situation and turned to Cathy. “I’m guessing Dr. Montoya didn’t prep you. I’ll finish the pre-op, Cathy, and meet you down in the OR.”

Cathy, despite the bemused frown, simply nodded and exited the room.

Luke groaned and shook his head. “Sorry about that. Cathy is great, just didn’t know the situation apparently.” He took up a perch on the foot of Delirious’ bed. “So, about this surgery: I’m going to be in the room the entire time with you. Dr. Montoya is an excellent surgeon so there isn’t anything to worry about. Also, he won’t really know the full extent of the damage in your leg until he gets in there. He wasn’t the one who did the initial surgery so he doesn’t want to go off of what he’s seeing in your chart. So this could be the first of a few surgeries, or this could be your only surgery. But I don’t want you to get your hopes up.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.” Delirious muttered.

“What about something to ease the anxiety about the anesthesia?” Evan inputted suddenly.

Both men looked at him in surprise, Delirious’s face also showing a small bit of gratitude and for some reason, wonder.

“Uh, yeah. Yeah, we can definitely do that. We can give you some ambien in your IV to relax you before we put you under. It’ll help when you wake up too.” Luke told him.

“That would be great actually.” Delirious nodded. “Thanks for thinking of that, Evan.”

Evan shrugged. “I have pretty bad anxiety about anesthesia too. So that’s what they do for me, and I figured they could do the same for you. Anything to help ease your mind.”

“Well, I still appreciate it.” 

“Alright, well are you ready to go down?” Luke asked as he stood.

Delirious clapped his hands together before placing them in his lap. “As ready as I’ll ever be, I guess.” He looked at Evan once more. “You really don't need to stay, you know. I’ll be fine. I know you have a lot of work, running a company and all. Plus I know this is some sort of obligation to you…”

“It’s bad to hit a cripple right?” Evan asked Luke pointedly.

“It is indeed frowned upon in certain social circles.” Luke said, completely deadpan. “But I think in this case it would be acceptable.”

“You idiot, I’m not here out of obligation. I thought we were past that? Didn’t we move ourselves into the friend category yesterday? I’m here because I care. Just shut up, Delirious, and go get your leg fixed. I brought my work here, and they won’t fall apart without me for a day. I’ll be here when you wake up, okay?” Evan said, not at all unkindly. 

He noticed the slight flush on Delirious’ face and preened triumphantly. “Yeah, okay. Thanks, again.”

“Yeah, yeah. No thanks required. Go on, then. Sweet dreams, princess.” Evan teased.

“I take back every nice thing I’ve said about you.” Delirious told him with a glare.

“You been talking about me?” Evan winked. He rather enjoyed teasing Delirious like this; enjoyed getting a rise out of him and seeing as the pink tinged his cheeks.

“Luke, take me away from this _animal_.” He groaned, flopping back onto the bed. 

Luke just laughed as he began to maneuver the bed from the room. “I’ll let you know when he’s in recovery how the surgery went.”

“Thanks,” Evan said gratefully as he watched the doctor push his friend from the room. He sighed once they were out of sight. He was worried, but he knew that Delirious was in good hands. He was praying that this would be the only surgery, and that the damage wasn’t too extensive to require others. He knew that Delirious would want to be back on his feet as soon as possible. With that thought, he pulled his laptop back towards him and got to work on some business invoices he needed to have done before he sent them on to Tyler.

It was at the three hour mark before Luke finally came back into the room, his green surgical scrubs still on. Evan looked up sharply, closing his laptop with a quiet ‘click’.

“He did great.” Luke said as he moved further into the room and sat in an empty chair. “The leg wasn’t as bad as we originally anticipated. The femur is pretty badly shattered but Dr.Montoya was able to put plates and screws to mend it. It will take some time, and a lot of physical therapy; not to mention that he’ll probably walk with a limp for the rest of his life, but he’ll be okay. And he won’t need another surgery. Just a few follow up appointments with the surgeon and he’ll start physical therapy once the cast comes off in a month or two.”

“He will definitely be relieved to hear that.” Evan said, his own relief making it’s way gradually through his bones. 

Luke nodded. “I agree. He and I will start our sessions again sometime next week, as well. And I have a really good feeling about them. And about him living with you. I know he doesn’t want to get his hopes up, and quite frankly, neither do I, but in the last week, I’ve already seen improvements.”

“How do you figure?” Evan asked curiously.

“He’s not exactly gaining memories, but he’s gaining feelings, understandings of his past. That’s progress: amazingly so.” Luke said excitedly. “He may not see it, but I do. It may be all we see, but even so, it’s something.”

Evan nodded slowly, remembering the conversation he and Delirious had had earlier about his wisdom teeth. But he wasn’t going to get his hopes up either. It wasn't a road he was willing or able to drive down. “Where is he now?”

“In recovery,” Luke answered. “He’ll be there for about an hour. So if you want to grab some food, you’re more than welcome.”

Remembering that Delirious requested burritos, Evan decided that he’d do just that. “Okay, thanks, Luke.”

“No problem,” Luke replied before standing. “I’ll make sure you get a copy of his appointment schedule before he’s discharged this weekend.”

Evan just nodded and Luke left the room. He pulled out his phone and called Larry, telling the man to come to the hospital to pick him up. He had a few stops to make and only an hour before Delirious was back in his room, so he had to hurry.

First, he went to his apartment. Running inside, he grabbed his DS and a case of games, some of which were of his own company’s design. Delirious was going to be in the hospital for another two days still, and he was going to be bored: the TV could only foster so much entertainment. His next stop was to his cell phone provider. Delirious didn’t have a phone, and he was going to need one. Evan had extra lines that were going unused, so he quickly bought the other man the latest iPhone, adding unlimited data and messaging. He was sure Delirious was going to protest about the expensive gift, but Evan wasn’t going to worry about it at the moment. Lastly, he had Larry stop at the burrito truck by the pier, and bought two jumbo, fully loaded burritos for himself and his friend, before heading back to the hospital.

Delirious still wasn’t in the room when he made it back, so Evan placed the burritos and the DS on his table before settling in his own chair and unwrapping the new phone. He made sure to program a few numbers in the contacts list, as well as download a few apps that he thought Delirious would enjoy.

By the time he was done, the door was opening, and the large bed was being pushed through by a nurse. Delirious still looked groggy from the anesthesia, but he was smiling. 

“Well aren’t you a sight for sore eyes?” Evan commented with a small laugh.

“Yeah well, I’m sure _you_ look like a goddamn supermodel when you wake up from surgery.” Delirious fired back.

“I bought you a burrito.” Evan said once the bed was back in it’s proper place. He pulled the table so it was over Delirious’ stomach. “Best burritos in town.”

“Thank god, I’m starving.” Delirious sat up carefully as to not jostle his newly wrapped leg. He unwrapped the burrito and took a large bite. Evan was slightly caught off guard by the way he moaned, savoring the bite like it was the best thing he’d ever put in his mouth. “God, you were right.”

“Told you.” Evan said, gathering his wits. It was neither the time nor the place. “Gotta learn to trust me, man.” He unwrapped his own and took a large bite.

He noticed Delirious eyeing the DS with caution. “What’s that?” He asked.

“Nintendo DS,” Evan responded.

Delirious rolled his eyes. “I know _what_ it is. I mean why is it _here_?”

“I brought it for you. And there are a bunch of games in that case. I figured you could use the entertainment. The TV get rather boring after a while.” 

“Really? That’s actually really awesome. Thanks.” Delirious picked up the case of games, opening it up and flipping through them. “I’ve never heard of most of these.”

“A lot of them are old, some new; and a few are from my company. With your memory and you living on the streets, I’m not really surprised you don’t recognise them.” Evan told him gently.

“Yeah,” Delirious said sadly. “I hate that I’ve missed out on so much sometimes.”

“Hey, don’t worry.” Evan placed a comforting hand on his arm. “We’ll get you back up to speed in no time. Oh, I have something else for you.” He pulled the newly programmed phone back from the bag and handed it to him. “I figured you’d need a phone. My number is programmed in there, as well as Tyler’s, Larry’s, and Marcel’s. If you can’t reach me, one of these guys will always know where I am. It’s actually annoying. But they’ll also help you with whatever you need.”

Delirious was frowning at the phone, and Evan knew he was about to hear about the extrinsic need for it. “I can’t accept this.”

“Sure you can.”

Delirious shook his head and tried to hand it back. “No, I can’t. This is an expensive phone, and I don’t need one. I don’t need you buying things for me. I’m not a charity case.”

“I never said you were, nor do I think you are.” Evan said pointedly. “The phone is a gift because when I’m at work, you’re going to need a way to get in touch with me, or with Larry to take you to your appointments. And it’s in case of emergencies. I don’t have a house phone.”

“Evan, seriously, this is too much…”

“No, it’s really not. I had extra lines on my plan anyway that were just taking up space. Dude, just accept it.” Evan insisted.

“I’m going to be paying you back for this.” Delirious told him, and Evan just rolled his eyes.

“Do what you have to do. But for now, let’s just focus on getting you out of here and back on your feet, yeah?”

“You’re a pushy bitch.” Delirious said.

“Get used to it.” Evan sat back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest with a grin. 

Delirious placed the phone gingerly next to the DS before picking his burrito back up. Evan noted with delight that his eyes never left the stupid thing, and he could tell that Delirious was actually quite grateful to have it. He wasn’t sure if the other man even remembered ever owning a phone before.

Evan stayed at the hospital for a few more hours before he had to take his leave to head home and change for dinner. Delirious waved tiredly, too exhausted from the day to give him a proper goodbye. He was already lightly snoring by the time Evan closed the door behind him. 

At home, he changed into a pair of jeans and a navy blue henley. Jack’s wasn’t too far from his apartment, having actually walked the ten blocks on numerous occasions. He decided to do the same that evening, it being beautiful outside. 

When he arrived, his friends were already seated and waiting for him. Marcel and his wife, Simone, had joined them as well.

“The king arrives! Should we all stand and bow?” Tyler declared to the table.

Evan just rolled his eyes as he placed a kiss on the top of Alicia’s head and took his seat next to Craig. 

“Hey Evan, how goes it?” Brian asked before taking a pull from his beer.

“I’ve been at the hospital all day. Delirious’ surgery went really well. He only needs the one, so he’s getting discharged in a couple of days.” Evan told them. He noticed the whiskey in front of him and was appreciative of his best friends for thinking ahead and ordering for him. He took a sip and welcomed the burn after his exhausting day.

“That’s great to hear. And then he’s coming home with you?” Brock asked. 

“Yeah,” Evan confirmed. “He’ll be staying in the spare room until the cast comes off. And Larry will be taking him to his appointments.”

“Which means more work for me, of course.” Marcel quipped.

“Like you do anything as it is.” Tyler taunted.

“I’ll have you know, Johnson,” Marcel said, his finger raised in Tyler’s direction. “Being a bodyguard for the youngest and richest CEO in LA is not an easy task. Especially one of a video game company.”

“And I’ll have you know, that it isn’t.” Tyler laughed. “Come on, man. No one wants us. We’re fucking nerds who make video games for a living.”

“You did fall asleep on the job a few days ago.” Craig added with a grin.

Marcel groaned. “Not you too, Craig. We’re _buddies_. I _introduced_ the two of you. Don’t turn on me now!”

The table all laughed and Simone placed a comforting hand on her husband’s arm.

Dinner was loud, and lots of laughter could be heard across the restaurant. Brock got his burger and his onion rings, and he ate them with a fervor while Brian looked on helplessly. Aly fell asleep an hour and a half in, worn out from the jet lag, and then spending the day wandering the city. Evan knew they all had an early day the next, as their board meeting was scheduled for eight a.m., and then there were subsequent meeting with the members for the remainder of the day, so he decided to call it a night shortly after his niece’s head hit the table.

He promised them all drinks at his apartment the next night before they went their separate ways. He walked back home, the few whiskeys he had giving him a pleasant buzz as he maneuvered through the still busy LA streets. It was a cool night, still in the transition phase between winter and spring, and Evan appreciated the breeze on his warm face. 

When he got back to his apartment, he opted for a shower, deciding that he’d rather the extra sleep in the morning. Afterwards, as he toweled off and slipped into his sweatpants, he thought about Delirious, and wondered how he was feeling after the surgery. Probably not too well, considering they just cut his leg wide open and placed metal wherever they could fit it. He wanted to call, but he was anxious about potentially waking the other man up. Instead, he pulled out his phone, glad that he had the foresight to program the new number in his own contact list, and sent a text.

**To Delirious: How are you feeling, Bionic Man?**

Not expecting an immediate response, he placed his phone on his nightstand, plugging it in, before moving to turn the overhead light in his room off. As soon as he flipped the switch, his phone pinged with an incoming message. He hopped onto his bed, pulling the phone into his hands.

**From Delirious: Ready to kick some asses through a building XD**

Evan laughed. Obviously Delirious was still in pain, but even then, he still found it in him to make a joke.

**To Delirious: I’ll just round up those bad guys then and keep them locked up for when you’re sprung.**

The response was instant.

**From Delirious: Let’s fight crime together. Batcoon and Nightowl. You are Nightowl**

**To Delirious: Where in the shit did you come up with those names??**

**From Delirious: They just came to me in the moment. Copyright, bitch. Big brother is always watching. XD Gotta change them up.**

Evan shook his head. This guy was weird in all of the best ways.

 **To Delirious: Get some sleep you paranoid weirdo.**

**From Delirious: That’s Batcoon to you.**

**To Delirious: Get some sleep paranoid weirdo Batcoon. I won’t be able to talk much tomorrow. Lots of meetings. But I’ll bring dinner when I get off.**

**From Delirious: Sounds good. Goodnight Nightowl.**

Evan placed the phone back on his nightstand, unable to keep the smile off of his face. This man was going to be the literal death of him.


	6. Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little bit filler, a little bit of them getting to know each other. This was supposed to be a part of a longer chapter, but it would have been entirely too long. So enjoy! And the next one should be out in a few days.

Delirious let out a low whistle as he crutched through the front door of Evan’s penthouse. “I knew guys that had _houses_ when I lived on the streets that were smaller than this apartment.” Evan rubbed the back of his neck, obviously uncomfortable, and Delirious immediately felt badly. “But it’s awesome. I couldn’t think of a better place to crash. Way better than my old tent. Thanks, man.”

“What did I tell you about the homeless jokes?” Evan said as he put the bag from the hospital down by the door.

Delirious leaned against a crutch and waved his arm. “You said, ‘You’re not homeless anymore, Delirious, and it’s not a joke that you were.’ Well I say that I should be able to make jokes because you’re just being a little bitch about it.”

Evan raised his eyebrows. “Oh yeah?”

Delirious grinned smugly. “Yeah, because I'll tell you what, homeless people joke about being homeless all of the time. For example, I had one buddy, Carl, who found a cardboard box one time: probably about the size of his head. Kept calling it his palace; took that thing everywhere with him. He wouldn't let anyone near it and told everyone to call him King Carl. Said he'd never find a place better than that box.” He shook his head. He actually missed the old bastard. 

Evan was smiling gently at him. “That's a great story. Not exactly a joke though.”

“No, but it proves you’re being a bitch.” He laughed. “Look, being homeless isn't glamorous. But we made due with what we had. King Carl was happy as shit with his palace, and no one can take that away from him.”

Evan nodded. “Duly noted. Okay, I think I can live with the homeless jokes. You ready for a tour?”

“Hell yeah!” He wobbled unsteadily on his crutches and Evan reached out to stabilize him, but he waved him away. “I got it. Just have to get used to them. Lead the way, Night Owl.”

“I still don't know how you came up with that.” Evan said with a laugh as he walked further into the apartment. Delirious followed him into the living room, where a large flat screen tv was, along with a sound system, and a cabinet with about six different gaming systems. He also had two large bookshelves along the walls: one held movies, while the other held games. Also in the room, was a large leather couch, a matching loveseat, and a huge black arm chair that Delirious was sure he would never be able to get out of once he sat down in it.

“Well, I was thinking of Batman, naturally, and since copyright and all of that,” he started as he hobbled to the bookshelves and looked at the titles. “I went with Batcoon for myself, and Night Owl for you, after Night Wing.”

“You know we don’t _actually_ have to worry about copyright, right?”

“Tomato, tomatoe...woah, Grand Theft Auto came out with a five? I played that at Luke’s, but Four was pretty shitty quality. How many games do you even _have_?” Delirious ran his hand along the cases, amazed.

“Five is pretty awesome; we can play after you get settled if you want? I’m not really sure. I get most of the top rated games when they come out, plus all of the ones my company produces. You’re welcome to all of them. What’s mine is yours now.” Evan said and Delirious snorted.

“Thanks, wifey.” And he ignored the pang in his chest when he said it. _That_ wasn’t happening.

The kitchen was just off of the living room, and it had all of the latest steel appliances. There was an island in the center, with three barstools on one side. Delirious also noted that there was a dining room set near the kitchen, but it didn’t look like it was used very often. It was probably more often than not just a show piece, as Evan had a vase with fake flowers in the center. The most notable part of the entire room however, were the large glass windows that encompassed the entire wall of the apartment. Delirious could see the entirety of LA from here, and what a view it was. There was a sliding glass door that led to a patio, where a small table and four chairs were placed. He could imagine having breakfast out there every morning, watching as the usually lively city woke for the day.

He wasn’t going to kid himself though: he didn’t know how long this arrangement was going to last, but he was sure that he was going to make the most of it while it did.

“Wanna see your room?” Evan asked. Delirious turned from the window to see Evan standing exactly where he had left him. Delirious couldn’t quite place the look on his face, and he decided to let it be for now. He motioned with his hand that he’d follow him, and Evan walked down the long hallway. On the walls were blown up pictures of video game cases. Delirious recognized the Games Inc. logo and asked Evan about them. “Those are the first games that we produced, when it was just Tyler, Brock, Brian, and I. We had to hire people for some of the actual game development, but that’s how we started out. It was right after college.”

“That’s awesome. And look what you did with it.” They had stopped outside of a door.

“Yeah, it’s pretty awesome. Here you go, Delirious: Home Sweet Home.” Evan grinned and opened the door. 

What Delirious saw took his breath away. It wasn’t the spacious bed that sat in the center of the room, or the flat screen that was mounted on the wall across from it: it was the wall of windows, much the same as in the other room, that had stolen his breath. It was the same view of downtown LA, the same place he had called his home for five years. It was beautiful, and he couldn’t tear his eyes away from the shadow that the late afternoon sun was casting on the skyline. He was going to be living here, sleeping here, and he would be able to see this view every day. 

“There is a remote on the nightstand, for the blinds. They come down from the ceiling, so that the sun won’t wake you in the morning.” Evan was saying. Delirious already knew that he would never use it. He loved waking up to the sun. “You have your own bathroom in here, just through that door.” Delirious reluctantly turned away from the view to see where Evan was pointing. “And this,” the other man walked to another door in the room. “Is your closet.” 

Delirious hopped over to where he was and peered inside. It was full of clothes and he glanced back at Evan, confused. “There are clothes in here.”

“Quite the detective you are.” Evan grinned at him. “You and Brian are about the same size, so I asked him to go out yesterday to get you some things for me. You needed clothes. You and I can go out another time to get you some more.”

Delirious _hated_ that Evan was buying things for him. He felt like a charity case, like a dog Evan had picked up off of the streets and adopted. Delirious wasn’t that person. He knew that Evan didn’t mean it like that, and probably didn’t see it that way, but he couldn’t help but feel the anger bubble up. 

“Don’t do that.” He ground out between gritted teeth.

“Don’t do what?” Evan looked legitimately confused, and Delirious could also see the hesitation in his eyes. He wasn’t sure what had angered him.

“Don’t just _buy_ me things.” Delirious told him. He took a deep breath, stamping down on his frustration. Evan didn’t deserve it: the other man just thought he was doing something nice, and he didn’t need Delirious blowing up on him because his kind deed left a sour taste in Delirious’ mouth. “Look, I appreciate this. But I’m not a charity case, okay? I don’t want you spending money on me because you feel like you have to. I haven’t had any money for five years, and I’m not going to suddenly be comfortable around it. I’ve done just fine on my own.”

Evan crossed his arms across his chest. He looked contrite but also a bit defensive. “You know, most people just say thank you. I knew you needed clothes, so I bought you some. You can’t wear the same ratty sweatshirt everyday.”

Delirious pulled his favorite sweatshirt close to his body. It had been returned to him by the hospital before he left, after they had graciously washed it for him. “I _love_ my sweatshirt.”

Evan sighed, dropping his arms. “I’m sorry, okay? I guess I didn’t realize it would make you uncomfortable. But right now, I’m your only source of income. You’re going to need to eat, you’re going to need to be able to get things you need. And that means that you’re going to have to get over this.”

Delirious knew he was right, but he wasn’t going to be happy about it. He told the other man as much.

“You don’t have to like it, Delirious.” Evan pointed out. “But it’s something I _want_ to do for you.”

“You need to talk to me first before you spend your money on me. I’d rather you not spend anything but you’re a stubborn bastard so I’m guessing I have no choice.” Delirious childishly pouted.

“Nope,” Evan said gleefully. “But fine, if that’s what you want, I can do that for you.”

“Thank you.” Delirious said. He doesn’t feel like he lost the entire argument, and the little victory helped him to relax back into an easy stance. 

“Video games?” Evan asked.

Delirious nodded enthusiastically. “Video games.” 

He let Evan pick the game, his own knowledge of games very much lacking in comparison, having not played any for years, and not exactly remembering what he had played before. 

A lot of things about his diagnosis confused him. For one, he remembered common knowledge: what video games were, and even the basic controls. He remembered social skills, and he never once had to re-learn what anything was: the hospital equipment, food, what some buildings were. Luke had explained that there was not one single case of amnesia that was the same, and it was perfectly normal for Delirious to not have any other symptoms, other than the fact that he couldn’t remember anything of his life prior to five years ago. It was frustrating, maddeningly so. He would get tidbits of information, things that would just slip into his thoughts as if he had known them forever, but he was more than aware that he had never thought of them before.

It was like his memory was sand in his hand: quickly slipping through his fingers seconds after he thinks he has somewhat of a grasp on it.

He was roughly pulled back from his thoughts by the sound of Evan’s voice as the other man set up the T.V. Delirious was sat on the couch, his bad leg propped up under a pillow on the black, wooden coffee table. He had elected for the couch, despite Evan’s protests that the chair would be much more comfortable for him and more conducive to keeping his leg elevated. That chair was a _trap_. 

“I hope you don’t mind but I picked a game from the company.” Evan was saying with a sheepish grin. “It’s multiplayer, lots of shooting, and there’s even a rocket launcher you can pick up at one point.”

“Sounds like you’re about to get your ass blown up then.” Delirious grinned and held his hand out for the controller. 

“That sounds like a challenge.” Evan handed it to him with a wicked look in his eye that had Delirious hesitating. But he was never one to back down from a challenge.

“Bring it on, bitch!”

“Let’s get er’ goin’!” Evan said loudly, stressing out the last word and making Delirious laugh. 

They played well into the night, loudly shouting and cursing at each other. During one mission, Delirious was the one to find the rocket launcher, and he decided to blow Evan across the mountain they were currently traveling on. 

“What the shit was that? When did you pick that up?” Evan asked between fits of laughter.

Delirious was too busy trying to control his own to answer. The way Evan’s character had launched across the sky had caused snorts and wheezes to erupt out of him. 

“Laugh it up, Delirious. I’m going to be getting you back. I know secrets that you don’t.” Evan teased.

“Shouldn’t you know where the rocket launcher was? Since you developed the game?” Delirious asked once he gained control of his motor functions enough to pick his controller back up. 

Evan shrugged. “It moves. Keeps the players on their toes when they play. Don’t worry though, payback is a bitch.”

And it was, for it wasn’t but fifteen minutes later before Delirious realized his character was attacked and mauled by a mountain lion, not realizing that the raw meat Evan had given him would attract it. He had taken it suspiciously, but Evan had assured him it was because he had too much. He didn’t know that if you didn’t cook it almost immediately, predators would hunt you. Evan did though, judging by the way he was leaning forward onto his knees, his arm around his stomach and his breath coming out unevenly between bouts of laughter. Delirious took the pillow beside him and hit Evan with it, hard. 

“You’re an asshole!” He shouted good naturedly. 

“I told you that I’d get you back!” Evan responded with his own pillow, hitting Delirious gently on the chest. “Come on, I think that’s enough for the night. We still have to eat and I have to work in the morning. And you have therapy.”

Delirious grumbled at the last part, and Evan shot him a look. He held his hands up in surrender. It was annoying to think about spending an hour talking about how he couldn’t remember anything, and having Luke look at him like ‘maybe if you just try a _little_ harder’ but he promised he’d do it: he promised he’d try.

Evan handed him his crutches and helped him to his feet. “Come on, I’ll make spaghetti.”

“You can cook?” Delirious asked as he followed Evan to the kitchen. He sat on one of island stools, leaning his crutches next to him.

Evan snorted. “If you can call it that. I really just make basic things, like spaghetti and burgers. But I am normally home late, or out with clients, so I eat take out more often than not.” Delirious watched as he took out a jar of sauce and a box of pasta. “You can’t really mess up pasta though. Actually, I take that back. Tyler burned water once so…”

Delirious laughed. “How in the hell did he manage that?”

Evan put a pot of water to boil and turned back around to face him, both hands on the island and leaning forward. “No idea, but I have a strong suspicion it had something to do with his husband distracting him.”

“Nice,” Delirious grimaced. 

Evan nodded, “I had the same reaction. I know much more about their sex life than I ever wanted to.”

“Next time, keep that to yourself.” 

“Misery loves company, man.” Evan winked and turned towards the fridge. “Want something to drink? I’d offer beer but with your pain meds…”

“Water is fine.” Delirious responded. Evan handed him a bottle, which he accepted gratefully, before he turned back towards the stove. He poured the pasta into the pot, stirring it, and Delirious was drawn to how the muscles on his back stretched and contracted every time he moved. He didn’t linger long, willing his traitorous mind to stand down, and looked instead at the label on the bottle of water. 

They ate the pasta in relatively comfortable silence, neither needing to fill the air with meaningless words. They were both content to just sit there next to each other, occasionally exchanging small glances and smiles as they twirled the pasta around their forks in unison. Delirious was reminded of something, like an old movie he had maybe seen: something with dogs and spaghetti, but he couldn’t place it. 

When they were finished, Evan casually took both of their bowls and placed them in the dishwasher before putting the rest of the food away in the refrigerator. Delirious glanced at the clock on the stove and saw that it was only ten-thirty, but he was plenty exhausted. After almost a week in the hospital, doing nothing but laying in bed and sleeping, this day had been a long one.

It was like Evan was reading his mind though, because he looked at him sympathetically. “It’s definitely time for bed, before you pass out on my counter.”

“I thought you said ‘what’s mine is yours’?” Delirious asked sleepily as he stood on one foot. 

Evan helped him steady himself on his crutches. “Our counter then; happy, you big baby?”

Delirious elbowed him playfully, nearly falling to the ground in the process. “I hate these things.” he grumbled. He ambled forward as best as he could, Evan following behind cautiously. Delirious wasn’t crazy about the hovering, but he appreciated the concern at that moment. Once at his new room, Evan stayed by the door as Delirious moved to the bed. He looked uncomfortable, as if coming in any further would be an invasion of privacy. Delirious thought it was ridiculous: this was his home, but he was too tired to say anything about it.

“You got it from here?” Evan asked with an air of uncertainty. 

Delirious nodded. “I’m good. Just gonna crawl under the covers and pass out. Goodnight, Night Owl.”

“Night, Batcoon.” Evan smiled at him before closing the door quietly. 

Delirious was too tired to even think, so he settled back into the bed, pulling the heavy comforter up to his chin. He barely noticed how his body sunk into the mattress before he was asleep, the most comfortable he’d been in _years_. 

He dreamt about a bus full of children, a dark haired boy sitting beside him with a wonderful smile. But when he woke in the morning, he didn’t remember anything.


	7. Hard Truths

Delirious had always woken up early on the streets, had to in order to pack up his belongings and move around for the day before the cops came poking around. He had always gone down to the beach first and sat on the sand. Even though the sun didn’t come up over the ocean in Los Angeles, the rays of light from behind him over the still water made it a sight to behold. 

He heard Evan moving around outside of his door and wondered what time it was, considering the still dark shade of his room. A quick look at his new phone said it was five-thirty, and he marveled briefly at Evan’s dedication to work to be up at that hour. 

He sat up, mindful of his leg, and stretched, his long arms moving in an arch over his head. He couldn’t believe how wonderful he felt, how lose his limbs were, and how his back didn’t immediately contract in pain. The pain in his leg was even a dulled annoyance at this point, something he was sure would change the second he stood and the blood rushed downwards.

His bladder was screaming, so he bit the bullet and pushed the comforter back, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. He hissed in pain as his leg cramped suddenly, doing exactly as Delirious knew it would. He hoped Evan had the mind to put his pain pills in the bathroom. 

He had, and Delirious blessed the other man as he quickly swallowed his dose with a handful of water from the tap. He did his business, before taking time to brush his teeth, seeing that Evan had also bought him toiletries. 

His stomach panged in discomfort, and Delirious knew enough about pain medication that he needed to eat something, and soon. 

Before he left the room, he looked in the closet for a fresh t-shirt and pants. Finding what he needed, he sat himself on the bed and changed. It wasn’t the easiest task, but Delirious was determined to do these things on his own. 

Evan was walking back into the apartment when Delirious headed towards the kitchen. He was wearing running clothes, sweat beading on his forehead and shoulders where his tank top didn’t cover. Delirious was stunned into silence as he watched Evan drink from the bottle of water in his hand, seemingly not even noticing the presence of the other man in the room. Delirious couldn’t help but stare, admiring Evan’s broad but muscular body. He wasn’t blind: he was definitely attracted to the other man. How far that attraction ran was something else entirely, and Delirious wasn’t going to be thinking on it. 

He cleared his throat, and Evan spun around, startled, before his eyes landed on where he was, leaning on his crutches. “Delirious! I didn’t even see you. Why are you awake so early?”

“I uh...I always wake up early.” Delirious said. It wasn’t as eloquent as he was going for, but it would do. He sat down at the island, swinging his leg to rest on the chair next to him. 

“I hope I didn’t wake you up. I just went on a run with Marcel.” Evan said sheepishly. “I tried to be as quiet as I could.”

Delirious waved him off. “You’re good. Had to wake up early on the streets.” 

“Oh.” Evan rubbed the back of his neck and Delirious tried not to stare at his arms. “Do you want some cereal? I was just about to have a bowl myself.”

“Sounds great,” Delirious responded. “You were right about the bed by the way. I love it.”

Evan grinned, placing the cereal ingredients and a bowl in front of him. “I told you. Memory foam, man.”

He sat down next to him as Delirious starting pouring his cereal. They ate once again in comfortable silence, before Evan spoke up. “You nervous about today?”

Delirious swirled his cereal mindlessly with his spoon. He’d had therapy with Luke before: he’d gone to sessions for a while before he left Luke’s care. But this time felt different. He felt like he had more riding on his success this time, and was hopeful. And that hope was the part that frightened him, because for a person in his position, hope was a dangerous thing. “I guess we’ll just see how it goes.”

Apparently Evan was satisfied with that vague answer, because he simply nodded and continued eating. Delirious got most of his down, before the uneasiness he felt about the day settled too deeply in his stomach to allow him to continue eating. Evan cleaned their mess without another word, and Delirious wasn’t sure if he was grateful for the silence or not. He tapped his fingers on the counter in a tuneless beat. 

“I have to take a shower and get ready for work.” Evan said, once he was through cleaning. “You know you’re welcome to anything here, Delirious. You know how to work the T.V.?”

Delirious nodded. “I’m sure I can manage.” Evan nodded back, though Delirious noted it was more of a jerky shake of his head. Was he nervous about leaving him here by himself? “Don’t worry about me, Evan. I’ll still be here when you get back.”

Evan’s shoulders tensed, as if he was surprised Delirious could read him so easily. “I just worry, is all.”

“I have a brand new phone on my dresser that I’ll use if I need you.” Delirious assured him. And he wasn’t sure why, but he felt like he had to: had to reassure the other man that he wasn’t going to just leave, wasn’t going to say ‘fuck you’ to everything he’d already done and bolt like a coward. He was confused, because with Luke, he didn’t feel that same way. It was all too easy then to just leave. But now...Delirious’ head hurt to think about it.

“Please do. I think I have meetings most of the day, but I will still have my phone on me.” Evan smiled at him warmly. “I’ll be right back.” 

Delirious watched him leave the room and head towards his bedroom. He decided to try out the T.V. and settled in on the couch after hobbling over. He turned it on, switching channels until he found a movie about aliens. He propped his leg on the arm of the couch, his head on a pillow behind him, and mindlessly watched it. 

Evan came out about thirty minutes later, and Delirious turned his head to watch as he buttoned the cuffs on his shirt. “Independence Day, great movie.” But Delirious barely heard him. He had seen Evan in dress clothes before, as he usually came to the hospital straight from work, but this was the first time that he had seen him completely put together. Whenever he would visit him, his tie would be off, the top few buttons of his shirt undone, and his clothes well worn from the day. But now, Evan was dressed sharply in his light blue shirt and black slacks, both pressed nicely and without a wrinkle. The dark blue tie around his neck was silk from what Delirious could tell, and the contrast of dark against his light shirt was very enticing to the eyes. His hair was perfectly styled, gelled to spike up in the front, and he looked every bit like the CEO he was. Delirious felt inferior, and deep in the back of his mind, a little turned on. 

“You still with me, man?” Delirious’ eyes snapped back up to meet Evan’s, whose face showed a mixture of amusement and worry. 

“Yeah, sorry. It’s a great movie so far.” He answered quickly.

Evan grabbed his suit jacket from the back of the chair where he had placed it earlier and slipped it on. “Larry is going to be here at eight-thirty to pick you up. He’ll come help you to the car.”

“I’m not an invalid.” Delirious grumbled.

“Except kind of, you are.” Evan laughed. “Seriously though, call me if you need anything. I’ll try not to be too late tonight, and I’ll bring home dinner.” 

The word _home_ struck a chord with Delirious, but he didn’t mention it. He couldn’t allow himself to consider this his home. “Sweet, it better be those burgers you’ve been talking about.”

“Jack’s? You got it.” Evan said as he walked to the door. He stood awkwardly by it, as if he wanted to say something else, but must have decided against it because with a quick wave, he was gone, leaving Delirious alone once more. 

He still had two hours before Larry would be there, so he got comfortable again and focused on the movie, willing the image of Evan out of his head. ‘Aliens, guns, space ships; yeah, I can do this.’ He thought to himself.

And if he was startled when there was a buzzing sound, followed quickly by a knock on the door two hours later, well then no one had to know. 

He stood, and made his way to the door, peering cautiously into the peep hole. He vaguely recognized the man on the other side, only because it was the same person who had stood over him with panicked eyes the day he’d been hit by the car. He opened the door, trying to keep the tenseness out of his shoulders.

“Hey, you must be Larry.”

Larry held out a hand. “Yes, sir.” Delirious shook it, hoping the other man wouldn’t bring up the accident. Evan had told him how torn up Larry had felt about the whole thing, but it didn’t ease Delirious’ worries about being in the car with him. “Are you ready to go?”

“Yeah, just have to grab my phone and shoes from my room.” Delirious motioned over his shoulder.

“I’ll get them.” Larry insisted, perhaps a bit too eagerly. Delirious didn’t even have a chance to stop him before he slid past him and down the hallway, coming back seconds later with his cell phone in one hand and a lone sneaker in the other. He handed them both to Delirious, who nodded in thanks. 

“I’ll just...okay…” He felt awkward. He hadn’t been alone with anyone else besides Evan and the hospital staff, and with them, they were doing their jobs. He supposed the same could be said for Larry, but Delirious had a suspicion he was doing this more for appeasing his guilty conscious than because Evan had asked him to. He pocketed his cell phone before moving to sit on the couch to pull on his sneaker. He took a deep breath and shut off the T.V., before pulling himself to his feet and announcing he was ready.

Larry, to his credit, didn’t treat Delirious like he was made of glass. He let him walk on his own, crutching forward to the elevator, and then to the waiting car. He did, however, help him to climb into the back of the towncar, placing the crutches gently on the seat next to him. 

Delirious had a moment of panic as the car began to move. This was the same car that had hit him, the same driver that was driving at the time. He knew logically that he was perfectly safe, that the reason he was hit in the first place was to rescue a dog that had ran into the street, but it didn’t help to quell the frantic beating of his heart. 

“Are you okay, sir?” Larry asked, his eyes flicking to him from the rear-view mirror.

“Can you just...can you just keep your eyes on the road?” He asked him. He wasn’t trying to be cruel, and the question didn’t come out as such, but Larry did flash him a look of sorrow before gluing his eyes back to the street in front of him. 

Delirious pulled out his phone, wanting to talk to Evan. As he was typing the message however, he thought against it, not wanting to worry the man. Delirious was going to get over this fear, and if anything, he could talk to Luke about it later. Instead, he twirled it in his hand, occasionally bouncing it off of his thigh as he watched the world go by through his window. 

Even this early in the morning, the streets were bustling: people stopping to get coffee on their way to work, young adults walking with their friends on the way to the beach, parents walking their kids to school. He had observed all of these people before, but from much different circumstances. Now it just felt odd, like he somehow _belonged_ among them, though it couldn’t have been farther from the truth. 

The car pulled up to a familiar office building, and Delirious once again felt apprehension pool in his belly. This was going to be hell.

Larry opened the door and grabbed the crutches first, before offering his hand to Delirious. He briefly considered rejecting the offer, but took the hand anyway as he pulled himself to his feet. 

“I got it from here.” Delirious told him.

Larry hesitated. “Mr. Fong said that I was to accompany you.”

Delirious closed his eyes in frustration. Of course he did. “Well, _Mr. Fong_ doesn’t think that I can take care of myself. I am perfectly capable of walking through some automatic doors and to the first door on the left. And if he asks, just tell him I knocked you out with my crutch.”

Larry smiled. “Yes, sir. I’ll be right here whenever you’re ready.”

“Don’t you have other places to go?” Delirious asked him. He couldn’t imagine waiting outside of buildings for god knows until he was needed. How boring of a life.

“This is the only place I need to be.” Larry answered diplomatically.

“Evan better pay you good.” Delirious grumbled. “Alright, I guess I’ll see you then.”

The other man nodded and Delirious made his way forward to the front doors. They slid open noiselessly and a gust of air conditioning blasted him straight in his face. It was a stark contrast to the hot LA morning, and Delirious felt a chill run down his body. 

He propelled himself forward into the building, towards the front desk of the lobby. He already knew where he was going, so he moved to the left until he was in front of a door that read ‘Pacific Neurosurgery Associates’. Underneath, among other names, was Luke Patterson, MD. 

As ready as he was ever going to be, Delirious finagled the door open awkwardly, both crutches under one arm, and hopped through on one foot. He recognized the woman at the front desk, who jumped up immediately to help him. 

“Delirious, sweetie, let me get that for you!” 

He waved her off gently as he gathered his crutches back under his armpits. “Thanks, Genay, but I got it.”

Genay gently hugged him. “Still as stubborn as ever, I see. How are you?”

Genay was Luke's wife, and the receptionist at his office. She was kind hearted, and the one who had initially had the idea to take Delirious into their home. 

“Been better.” he shrugged, but flashed her a charming smile. “I see that you’re still wearing that jerk’s ring. I still don’t have a chance?”

“I think we both know I’m not your type.” She laughed and Delirious rolled his eyes. It was one of those things that the amnesia hadn’t taken from him: his knowledge of his sexuality. He was pretty sure it was why it was so hard living with an attractive guy like Evan, and that was _all_ he was chalking it up to be.

“Delirious, quit hitting on my wife.” Luke came from around the desk, seemingly having heard the entire conversation. “And you,” he rounded on her. “Stop encouraging him.”

“Whatever you say, darling.” She placated her husband with a pat on his chest and shot Delirious a wink before sitting back down behind her desk. 

Luke looked at him as if to say ‘do you see what I put up with?’. “Come on, man. Let’s head back into my office and get started.”

Luke led him through a door, passing multiple exam rooms before entering the cozy interior of his private office. Luke shut the door behind them and sat behind his desk; Delirious following suit as he laid his crutches down on the floor and taking a seat in the plush arm chair across from him. 

“So what's been going on? How's living with Evan?” Luke started. 

“Are you asking me as my doctor, or as my friend?” Delirious asked suspiciously. 

“Friend,” Luke answered, leaning forward on his elbows. “I don't want to just rush you into our session. I wanted to catch up a bit first.”

Delirious sat back, taking a deep breath. Luke was the closest thing that he had to a best friend, and he knew that he could tell him anything without fear of judgment. Initially, Luke had been Delirious’ doctor, nothing more. But after three months in the hospital following his accident and the onset of his amnesia, Delirious had taken quickly to Luke and his brash, no-nonsense personality. He was funny, and always had Delirious’ best interests at heart. And when the hospital decided that they couldn't keep him any longer, despite the insurance that Jonathan had, he and Genay had taken him in. He had lived with them for another few months, going to therapy twice a week. Then he had left. He had seen Luke since, sometimes being brought to the hospital with minor injuries or severe dehydration; and Luke always tried to make him come back home with him. But he couldn't do it. He had wanted to be able to manage it on his own, start fresh. Luke never asked for an apology for his sudden disappearing act, and Delirious was grateful. He wasn't sorry for leaving: it was all too much in a short period of time to have to deal with. Luke understood, which made him more of a friend than Delirious could ever had asked for. 

“Frustrating. I don't like when people buy me things, and he's pretty fucking hell bent on doing that. He cheats at video games, he can't cook anything besides burgers and spaghetti, and he hovers, _a lot_.” Delirious told him. 

“And?” Luke had a smug look on his face that Delirious was a second away from smacking off. 

“What do you mean _and_? Isn't that enough?”

“Sounds to me like you're really just finding small things to complain about because there is something bigger at play here.” Luke pointed out.

“I thought we weren't doing ‘doctor’ yet?” Delirious folded his arms stubbornly.

“No, trust me, this is all friend talking here. Did something happen this morning?” Luke asked.

Delirious glared at him. It was like Luke was in his head and it was infuriating. The other man had a knack for knowing when Delirious was holding back. “I’m attracted to him. Is that what you wanted to hear? He walks in all sweaty after a run in a tank top and shorts, and then not thirty minutes later he looks like he's going to model for GQ. Honestly, it's fucking distracting.”

Luke laughed. “You like him.”

“I'm _attracted_ to him. Big difference.”

“Not from where I'm sitting.” Luke teased. 

“You are actually the worst friend I've ever had.” Delirious told him. 

“You pronounced _best_ wrong.” Luke leaned back.

“I said what I said.”

Luke looked at him, his eyes inquisitive. Delirious could immediately tell that he was falling into his doctor persona now, and prepared himself. “Did Evan drive you this morning?”

Delirious knew that Luke was well aware of what his answer was going to be, and now he would be forced to talk about it. He was starting to regret his promise to try. “No, his driver drove me here.”

“Is this the same driver that caused the accident last week?” Delirious nodded and he continued. “How was that?”

Delirious hesitated. “Honestly? Terrifying... at first. I was able to distract myself by watching people out of the window. I'm sure I'll get used to it, but just being in the same car, being driven by the same driver...I was panicking.”

“Are you planning on telling Evan that it made you uncomfortable?” Luke asked him.

“No way. It would be just one more way for the guy to feel bad for me.” Delirious said stubbornly.

“No one is pitying you, Delirious.” Luke said. “Everyone in your life is concerned about your well being.”

“Yeah well, I barely know the guy.”

Luke actually rolled his eyes. “Seriously? He has gone out of his way to make sure that you get better.”

“He’s the one who hit me to begin with!” Delirious exclaimed, outraged. How was _he_ suddenly the bad guy?

“And he has gone above and beyond to make up for it. He has taken you in, fed you, clothed you…”

“I didn’t ask for any of it! Fuck, what aren’t you understanding? Why does this complete stranger just suddenly do these things for someone they don’t know? Or someone they think they knew a long time ago? I was doing _fine_ before he ran me over.” He threw up his hands.

Luke scoffed. “You were doing fine? I hadn’t seen you in over a year, and the times I did see you, you were unconscious because of how dehydrated you were. Don’t tell me you were _fine_.”

“Luke…”

“No, shut up. It’s my turn. We’ll get to the official therapy in a minute but I’m about to deliver some hard truths to your hard head. Consider it pro-bono therapy.” Luke glared at him. “I don’t resent you for taking off after I gave you a place to stay. That’s not what’s bothering me. What bothers me is your complete lack of regard for your own health and safety. I get that you wanted to start fresh, be a new person, forget about the fact that you lost everything and everyone because of your amnesia. But fuck, you _idiot_ , I could have helped you! You didn’t need to fucking scrounge around for food and water, sleep in a fucking tent or a dumpster in a back alley. You had a place to stay, I could’ve gotten you a job. You didn’t have to make your life so fucking difficult! That, my friend, is what is so frustrating to me. You didn’t want to try then. I get it. It was too much. But when are you going to man up and start giving a shit? People are trying to _help_ you, so let them! Not everyone has an ulterior motive. Evan, for instance, actually wants to see you heal, mentally and physically. And I’m not just talking about the amnesia, Delirious. You have to start thinking about Jonathan. You can’t keep shutting it out. It’s not healthy and despite what you want to believe, you _are_ Jonathan. You need to stop running. Because once you do, once you open up and _allow_ yourself to believe that you deserve to be whole again, that’s when you are going to heal.” 

Luke was out of breath by the end of his speech, his eyes still hard in anger. Delirious just sat there, mouth open and eyes wide. Luke had never really spoken to him like that, and it took him completely by surprise. But mostly, it was the words that really caught him off guard. He never knew Luke felt that strongly about his situation, and the look at his life from an outsider’s perspective surprisingly resonated with him. Perhaps Luke was right, and Delirious really had just been running away from Jonathan all of these years. And as he thought more on it, he knew it to be true.

“Why should Jonathan live, when they didn’t?” He said quietly, looking at his hands in his lap. And that was the root of the problem, wasn’t it? The mother and sister he knew he had, but didn’t remember. They had died, and it wasn’t fair that he was alive, and couldn’t even celebrate their memories. 

Luke’s voice softened considerably. “Why _shouldn’t_ Jonathan live? He survived, _you_ survived. It’s horrible that they were taken away, and that your memories went along with them, but why are you giving up? You can’t bring them back, we know this. But we can try our damndest to get back your memories of them. Wouldn’t that be the best way to commemorate their lives? You can’t just forget that it happened, not without another serious knock to the head.”

Delirious let out a small laugh. “It’s so much easier to not remember.”

“It’s scary. I know it’s fucking terrifying to suddenly not remember who you are, or where you came from. I’ve worked with enough amnesia patients to understand that. And it would be easier to forget, but what’s the point of that? That’s not truly living, Delirious, and I think that you know that. If you keep fighting so hard against treatment, the hopes of your memories coming back are slim to none. The brain works in mysterious ways, and to be honest, therapy hasn’t even been proven to help patients with retrograde amnesia. But in your case, deep down you don’t want the amnesia to go away, and that is what’s stopping you from gaining your memories back. So in our treatment plan, we are going to work through some techniques to reverse amnesia, in addition to getting over your fear of being Jonathan.” Luke told him, bringing out a folder. He pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to Delirious. “There are a few things that I would like to try with you in later sessions. That’s a list of the different therapies, if you want to do some research on your own about them.”

Delirious took a look at the list, most of the words flying completely over his head. “Age regression therapy? What the hell is that?”

“It’s almost like a hypnosis, where you are taken back to a child-like state in order to help recall some memories.” Luke answered. “Like I said before, there isn’t a proven method to curing retrograde amnesia. Most of the time it’s spontaneous. As long as the patient is willing to accept the memories.” He gave him a pointed look.

“I get it, okay? I know you’re right. It’s not going to happen overnight, Luke. It’s been five years.” Delirious said.

“That’s why we’re doing this, Delirious. It’s going to be slow progress, but hopefully it _will_ be progress.” Luke said gently. “We’re going to meet twice a week, just like before. One session will be normal therapy, where you talk to me and I will listen and help you work through it. The second session will be the amnesia therapy techniques.”

“Okay...okay, that sounds good.” Delirious nodded.

“Well, I think I got my point across, today.” He said with a wry smile.

“Is that how you talk to all of your patients?” Delirious raised an eyebrow. “Pretty sure you can’t curse at them.”

“Only the ones I love.” Luke said, winking. “Come on, I’ll walk you out.”

By the time Delirious got back to the penthouse, he was beyond exhausted: his head hurt from therapy, and his leg was practically on fire. Not to mention that his arms were seriously straining from holding up his body weight for the entirety of the day. 

He wasn’t hungry, though it was lunch time, and headed straight for his bedroom. He took his medicine quickly, before climbing into bed, his crutches falling to the floor unceremoniously. The soft, warmness of the bed cocooned him, and he slipped into slumber. 

Delirious felt like he had only been asleep for a few minutes, when a knock on his door woke him. He opened his eyes slowly, adjusting to the dark of the room. The sun had gone down since he’d been asleep, and he realized that it was probably Evan at the door, home from work. 

He sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. “Yeah, come in.” 

Evan opened the door cautiously, as if he were afraid he’d spook him if he moved too quickly. Delirious rolled his eyes. He was going to have to talk to him about that. 

“Hey,” Evan said. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you up.”

“No, it’s okay. I’ve been asleep all afternoon.” Delirious told him, moving to make his way from the bed. 

“I brought dinner, if you’re hungry?”

Delirious’ stomach rumbled loudly, angry that it missed a meal earlier in the day. After a week of three squares a day, it was apparently used to the routine of food now, something Delirious hadn’t been able to keep up with on the streets. “Apparently, I am.” 

“Look, I know I signed on for taking you in, but that damn lion living in your body? Yeah, that has to go.” Evan teased, leaning casually in the doorway. Delirious took a better look at him then; his jacket was gone, his tie was loose, and his sleeves were rolled up to his elbows. He had already kicked off his shoes, and even the top button on his shirt was undone. He looked completely at home and at ease..

“Just make sure you keep it fed, and it won’t bother you.” Delirious fired back, tearing his eyes away from the other man. “Grab my crutches, will you?” Evan entered the room and picked the crutches up from the floor, handing them to Delirious. “Thanks.” He said as he got to his feet. He followed Evan from the room and down the hallway. “I hope you got those burgers you promised.”

Evan laughed. “How does a barbeque, cheddar bacon cheeseburger sound? Complete with home fries?”

“It sounds like I would gladly slay my first born for even a bite of one.” Delirious told him. 

Evan shot him a look. “That’s very vivid. You haven’t even tried it yet.”

“My imagination is a scary place.” Delirious laughed, making sure it was a bit maniacal. 

“Of that I have no doubt.” Evan said as he pulled the chair out for Delirious. “Well, there’s no need to slay your firstborn, because I have it right here.” He sat next to him and pulled a paper bag close. Delirious could already smell the delicious aroma that was permeating from the bag, and it took all of his strength not to rip it from Evan’s hands. Evan reached inside and took out two perfectly wrapped burgers, along with two styrofoam containers. He handed Delirious each of one, who wasted no time peeling the paper off of the burger.

When he took the first bite, his eyes closed against his will. It was single-handedly the best thing he’d ever put in his mouth. The cheddar and barbeque accented each other flawlessly, and the bacon added the perfect crunch. “I would definitely slay my first born for this.” He said, mouth still full of food. He looked at Evan, who hadn’t even touched his own. The other man had a blush on his face, and quickly looked away when Delirious caught him staring.

“Yeah, they’re really good burgers.” He said as he unwrapped his own. 

A sort of awkwardness fell over them for the first time, and Delirious wasn’t sure why the atmosphere changed so suddenly. “How was work?” He asked, trying to get things back on track.

“Busy,” Evan said. “Lot’s of meetings today with investors and the research department. We have a focus group that we’ve been setting up for Wednesday, so I had to make sure everything was on track with that.” He picked up a fry and popped it into his mouth. “How was your day?”

“I’m going to be going to therapy with Luke twice a week. There are a few things he wants to try.” Delirious told him. He didn’t want to talk too much about therapy, or about his progress. He didn’t want to raise Evan’s hopes any higher than they already were.

“I was expecting to hear from you at some point. But Larry said you looked pretty tired when he dropped you off, so I figured you had gone to bed.” 

“You had Larry keeping tabs on me?” Delirious asked, though he wasn’t sure what he expected. 

Evan smiled at him sheepishly. “Yes?”

Delirious shook his head fondly. He should be annoyed, but after his talk with Luke today, he was starting to see that Evan was truly just looking out for him. 

“Oh, I also needed to apologize to you.” Evan said suddenly. “I am so sorry that I sent Larry to get you today. I wasn’t even thinking about the fact that it was the same car…”

Delirious turned on him. “Did Luke tell you? Because I swear to god, that is against patient-doctor confidentiality and I will murder him.”

Evan put his hands out in defense. “Relax, Delirious. Luke didn’t say anything. It was actually Tyler that brought it up. I can’t believe how stupid I was, thinking that you’d be okay with Larry. Actually, I wasn’t even thinking. So I really am sorry. I can have Marcel drive you from now on.”

Delirious could do nothing but stare. Any remaining doubt that Evan had any other motives, besides making sure that Delirious was safe and comfortable, went straight out of the window. Here was a man, that legitimately cared about him. That alone left Delirious feeling like he was going to explode. The only other person to care that much was Luke, and his feelings for Luke were nothing in comparison to the feelings he had for a man he had only met a week before. He had a strong urge to pull Evan into his arms and never let him go; to maybe spend the rest of his life trying to make up to him everything that he’s done to help him. 

But he knew that he couldn’t even comprehend or dissect those feelings towards his host before he squared away the shit in his own brain. He wouldn’t, he couldn’t, even _try_ : not now. He already had too much to work through, and the potentiality of falling in love with his friend was going to have to be put last on the list. Besides, he wasn’t even sure that that was even the case, so why get all worked up?

“You don’t have to do that.” Delirious told him. “Larry is fine. Sure, it was difficult at first, but I’m a big boy. I can handle it.”

Evan looked at him suspiciously. “Are you sure? Because I’m sure Larry would understand, and I don’t want you to be uncomfortable every time you’re in the car.”

Delirious shrugged. “Just add it to the list of things I need to work on. Seriously, Evan, it’s cool.”

“If you’re sure...but you have to tell me the second it becomes too much. I’m serious, Delirious.” Evan said.

Delirious laughed. “You’re a poet and you didn’t know it!”

Evan just shook his head at him, a smile replacing the serious frown. “Eat your damn food.”

Delirious saluted him, gladly turning back to the delicious burger in front of him.


	8. Games Inc.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while, I know, but this chapter was a struggle to write. That and life kind of had me going in a lot of crazy directions. Anyway, hope you enjoy!

The alarm blared noisily, and Evan rolled over with a groan as he moved to turn it off. He contemplated skipping his morning run, but ultimately decided against it. He'd been too wired lately, too focused on the fact that Delirious was asleep in the room next to his. The running helped: it helped him get the other man out of his head, at least temporarily. He knew having him living under the same roof was going to be difficult, but he never could have counted on how _quickly_ he would fall head over heels again for him. It was frustrating to say the least, as Evan was still trying to learn everything there was to know about Delirious. It was almost like they were both on the same level playing field; Evan had no idea what happened since they'd been apart, but then again, neither did Delirious. 

Despite the hard years on the street and the rough edges of his personality, Evan couldn’t help but think that Delirious was the same person that Evan knew all of those years ago. And the more he interacted with him, the more the heavy feeling in his heart grew.

In fact, his heart was practically in knots 24/7, just by having him living with him. It had been less than a week and Evan knew that the longer he had Delirious there, the harder it was going to be. Despite that, he wouldn’t change the arrangement for anything; regardless of how he felt, he was _never_ going to abandon the man just because Evan felt like he was being systematically tortured.

It was a bit dramatic, even he would admit. 

It wasn’t fair, as Delirious was still recovering in both mind and body, and Evan had no right to upend that process.

The inevitability of his feelings reaching a boiling point- he wanted Delirious, he _needed_ him- propelled Evan out of bed that morning. He ignored the protest of his body, ignored the pleas for just _thirty more minutes_ ; but he knew that if he was going to make it through the day he had planned, he’d need to run off this extra energy and completely clear his mind.

If only it would work the way Evan hoped. 

Marcel was already waiting for him in front of his building. Evan rolled his eyes at the sight, but truthfully he was grateful for the company. As far as Evan was concerned, he really _didn’t_ need a bodyguard; the only threat he’d ever been under was a few years ago when they received thinly veiled threats in the form of ominous emails and phone calls. It ended up being a rival company, envious of the success that Games Inc. was having. The threats had stopped- Marcel really never did tell him _how_ he had managed it- and there hadn’t been any trouble since. 

But Marcel was adamant, and, truth be told, Evan loved the consistent presence of his friend; especially on the days he felt unbelievably lonely.

The two started off at a slow pace, Evan breathing evenly through his nose. They headed towards the park a few blocks from the apartment, gradually picking up speed.

These mornings weren’t typically full of conversation, Marcel usually leaving Evan to his own thoughts as they pushed their bodies harder and harder. But Evan didn’t want to be be alone in his head that morning, his only thoughts spiraling around Delirious and his ever growing, misplaced feelings.

“How’s Simone?” He asked through a breath.

Marcel turned his head slightly and fixed him with a suspicious gaze. Evan kept his head forward, hoping that Marcel would take it as Evan being genuinely curious and wouldn’t comment on the change of routine. 

He didn’t, thankfully, and turned back to look at the path. Evan noticed a grin spreading across his face. “She’s good: great actually.”

Evan could practically see the excitement bubbling through his body, his posture giving it away as he ran with a new spring in his practiced step. 

“Okay, spill.” Evan commented. “I know that look. What’s up?”

Marcel slowed, and Evan followed until they came to a stop, hands on their knees as they struggled to catch their breath. 

“She’s pregnant.” Marcel said in glee as he straightened his body. “We found out yesterday. We’re having a baby, man.”

It took Evan nearly two seconds to process what he’d heard before pulling his friend into a bone-crushing hug. “Congratulations, man! That’s the best news I’ve heard in months!”

Marcel pulled back and laughed. “Even better than finding out your long lost best friend is practically back from the dead?”

Evan punched him lightly on the shoulder, quickly changing the topic back to the impending baby. “Hopefully Simone can whip you into shape before the baby comes. You’re a _terrible_ influence.”

Marcel pushed him. “Shut the fuck up, asshole. I’m gonna be a great dad!”

“Yeah, you are.” Evan told him seriously. “I’m really so happy for the both of you.”

Marcel simply nodded, patting Evan’s shoulder. “Come on, let’s finish up so we can get to work.”

When Evan finally got back to the apartment, he found Delirious in the kitchen, leaning heavily on his crutches and fiddling with Evan’s coffee maker. 

“Need some help?” He asked with a smirk.

Delirious jumped, the coffee pod flying from his hands with a startled yell.

“You’re such a bitch!” Delirious scolded once he got his wits back.

Evan laughed, pulling a water bottle from the fridge and taking a long drag. “I couldn’t resist. You just looked like you were concentrating.”

“You have gadgets in here that belong in the future.” Delirious grumbled.

“Gadgets?”

“Oh, whatever, you know what I meant!” He threw his hands up.

“I know you just sounded like an old man.” Evan said as he brushed against Delirious to load the Keurig. He tried to ignore the heat that was radiating from where their bodies were touching. He pressed the start button, reluctantly moving away. “Breakfast?”

“Do we still have pancakes leftover from yesterday?” Delirious asked as he moved to sit in his seat. Evan tried not to grin at the fact that Delirious had said _we_ , or about the fact that he even had his own designated chair. Maybe he was finally starting to see that they were in this together.

Evan pulled the pancakes from the freezer, unwrapping them and setting them on a plate. He put them in the microwave for a few seconds as he put the syrup and butter in front of Delirious. He retrieved the plate, and that too went in front of the other man, who's eyes were wide in happiness.

“Best pancakes ever.” He said with a mouth full of syrup. “I’m adding it to the list of things you can actually cook. It’s a short one though.”

Evan laughed as he got out the ingredients for his own breakfast: a protein smoothie. “I don’t know, now that I actually have someone to cook for, I may try some new things.”

Delirious raised his eyebrows. “Um...I’m not sure how I feel about being your guinea pig.”

“Good thing you can’t run away then.” Evan said as he threw a wink in Delirious’ direction. 

Delirious started choking, and Evan ran over, his hands flailing in concern. Delirious waved him off. “Wrong...pipe…” He managed. 

“Can you not die, please?”

“No promises…” and Evan barely made out the whispered words. Confused, but deciding not to dwell on it, he went back to the blender and added fresh fruit, coconut milk, and his customary scoop of protein powder. The whirl of the blades as it cut through the ice and fruit filled the kitchen, and Evan was glad that he had a top of the line blender that barely took ten seconds to blend the ingredients. He took it off the base, and poured it all into his glass. He ignored Delirious’ look of disgust as he took his first drink. Despite the grittiness of the protein powder, it was actually quite delicious and refreshing.

“What’s your plan for today?” Evan asked as he set his drink on the counter. 

“Besides wallowing away inside until I get this cast off? Nothing. Probably play some games.” Delirious shrugged.

Evan frowned. “You know, you don’t have to stay inside every day. Larry can take you wherever you like. You have his number. And that way you wouldn't be going anywhere alone.”

Delirious gave him a harsh look. “I’d be fine on my own.”

Evan backtracked, not wanting this conversation to lead into an argument. “I’m not saying you wouldn’t be. But it would be easier to have someone with you since you’re on crutches.”

“Still not an invalid,” he murmured.

Evan sighed. He didn’t want to have _that_ particular conversation again. “The reason I’m asking, is because I was wondering if you wanted to come to work with me today.”

Delirious looked up, surprise evident on his face. “You want me to go to work with you? Is it bring your pet to work day?”

Evan crossed his arms. “Are you intentionally trying to be an asshole this morning?”

Delirious softened considerably, a look of remorse on his face. “Sorry, Evan. Rough night.”

“Want to talk about it?”

“Not really.” Delirious shook his head. “So anyway, work?”

Evan shrugged, hesitantly moving the topic away from Delirious’ bad night. “We have the focus group today for the zombie game, and I’d thought maybe you’d like to sit in on it.” Truthfully, Evan wanted to give Delirious a boost of confidence, something that was surely to happen when he saw the raving reviews that were projected due to Delirious’ idea. “It was your idea after all. Besides, I want to show you around so you can see what I _actually_ do.”

“I’m still holding on to my theory that you’re a gang boss.” Delirious pointed his fork at him. “I’m on to you.”

“Right, gang boss,” Evan said, rolling his eyes. “So is that a yes?”

Delirious chewed slowly as if he was contemplating his answer. “Are you...are you sure you really want me to come?”

Evan uncrossed his arms. “Why wouldn’t I?” He asked gently.

Delirious shrugged. “I mean, I’m just the homeless guy you picked up from off the streets. I don't exactly fit in with your group of friends…”

“Delirious, do you think I’m ashamed of you?” Evan was aghast. “That is not the case, and it won’t ever be! We’re friends, man, and I really do want to introduce you to my other friends. And trust me, you’ll fit in just fine. We aren’t a bunch of rich snobs. None of us grew up in that environment. We came up and worked hard as shit for what we have. Just come, you’ll see.”

Evan could tell that Delirious was still wary of the entire situation, but he nodded anyway. 

“Great!” Evan exclaimed. “It’s going to be great. I’ll even bring you to testing so you can see what we’ve been working on. I’m going to go shower and change, I suggest you do the same. Do you need help?”

Delirious shook his head. “I can manage.” 

Evan spared him one last look, not exactly knowing how to decipher the emotions that were whirling through Delirious’ eyes. As much as he didn’t want to push him, Evan knew that getting him out of the house and socializing would do a world of good for the other man. 

It didn’t take long for Evan to shower- he elected on a cold one to get his damn _body_ under control- and he quickly walked back into his bedroom, towel wrapped low on his hips. He decided on a red and blue striped tie and black slacks. He’d bring his jacket, but there was no guarantee he’d keep it on through the duration of the day. He was a professional sure, but he was also the head of a video game company. The rest of his employees typically dressed very casual. 

He took extra time with his hair, forcing it into submission on top of his head so that it spiked up in the front. Donning his shoes, and with his jacket folded neatly on his arm, he put his phone and wallet in his pocket before leaving the room. 

Delirious was already waiting for him, tapping away at some game on his phone. He was wearing a pair of jeans- and if they fit a bit _too well_ , Evan was refusing to comment- as well as a light blue button down shirt. It was casual, but also looked as if Delirious was hoping to impress Evan’s friends and colleagues. The thought made his stomach flip in happiness, but he made sure to school his features. “Ready to go?”

Delirious looked up and gave him a tentative smile. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

Evan laughed. “You make it sound like I’m about to feed you to the sharks.”

“How am I supposed to know what I’m getting myself into here?” Delirious waved his arms frantically.

“I’ll protect you from the bad guys, Batcoon.” Evan rolled his eyes. “Come on, Larry is waiting.”

Delirious was grumbling but nevertheless followed behind him. 

Larry was waiting for them with a gracious smile. He opened the door, and Evan held Delirious’ crutches as he slid into the backseat. He placed the crutches between them before climbing in himself. Larry shut the door and moved around the car to get behind the wheel. 

Evan saw Delirious physically tense as soon as the vehicle began to move. He fought the urge to reach out and grab his hand in comfort and support, but he was hesitant because he wasn’t sure if the other man would take solace in it. He may think that Evan believed him to be weak, and that was not the intention. So he merely gave a small, reassuring smile, and received a sharp nod in return.

He decided then, that the best course of action would be to distract Delirious with conversation. Though it was early yet, there were still a decent amount of cars on the road and Evan figured it would take a bit longer than the usual ten minutes to get to the office.

“So, the developers have been working crazy hours for the past week to get a demo for the focus group today. It really looks amazing. I think your idea is going to be a huge hit with them. What made you think of it?” Evan asked.

Delirious shrugged, looking out of the window and watching as the world went by. “I don’t know. I guess...you don’t really know the other side of the story until you live it.”

Evan had a feeling that he was speaking about more than zombies. “So a new perspective?”

Delirious turned to him finally, a calculating look in his blue eyes. “They’re not people but...they used to be, right? They’re victims: an epidemic, a virus, a biological failure. They can’t control it. It reminds me of people on the streets. Sure, a lot of them can fix their situations, but a lot of them can’t. Some can’t hold a job because of an illness, or were kicked out of their homes because of a lifestyle choice. I guess, when I thought about the game, I was thinking about the people I’d met. So yeah, I guess it’s a new perspective.”

Evan was floored by the speech. “That’s...that’s really deep, man. I can honestly say that it never occurred to me. I think it would be really important dialogue within the game.”

“If you want.” Delirious said noncommittally. 

“It can lead to a lot of soul searching if we do it right. We can actually make this game into a subtle lesson, rather than a mindless game for people to waste away in front of.”

“You’re the CEO of a video game company. Don’t you _want_ people to waste away in front of the computer?” Delirious raised his eyebrow.

Evan waved his hand. “Changing times and more perceptive clientele. Will you help us?”

Delirious paused for a few seconds, before nodding slowly. “I mean, it beats sitting in the apartment every day.”

Evan grinned at him, while his mind swirled with new ideas and plans. Truthfully, it was a brand new perspective for Evan as well. A lot of people were victims of circumstance, but the people who overcame those circumstances and better their lives, those were the people you had to watch for. Evan hoped Delirious would be one of those people. In fact, he was fairly confident that he was already well on his way.

He steered the conversation then to less heavy topics, and asked Delirious if he’d made anyone cry lately on GTA. They spent the rest of the drive arguing about the merits of parental restrictions and how irresponsible it was for some parents to let their small children play such graphic games. 

As usual, Marcel was waiting at the front of the building, leaning against the handrails of the steps. In front of him, sat a wheelchair, something that Evan was positive Delirious would take offense to.

Sure enough, Delirious wasn’t even out of the car before he growled menacingly. “I am not being carted around in that thing.”

“It’s a big building, Delirious. You can’t expect to crutch around the entire time.” Evan reasoned. 

“The fuck I can’t.” He defiantly stood and began to crutch forward. 

“Do you always bitch?”

Evan watched as Delirious turned to Marcel. “Sorry?”

“I said, do you always bitch? Evan is just trying to help you out, make your life a little easier. You don’t know how big the building is. Can’t you just accept something nice?” Marcel crossed his arms and widened his stance.

Delirious was just staring at him, looking like he was gauging whether or not he would win in a fight with the shorter black man. But finally, Evan breathed a sigh of relief as Delirious begrudgingly held his crutches out to Larry and motioned for Marcel to bring the chair over to him. “Thank you.”

Marcel clapped him on the shoulder. “See man? Not so hard. Now c’mon. I bet if I can get enough speed up this ramp, we can pop a wheelie at the top.” 

Evan watched on in amusement as Marcel raced Delirious up the ramp with a whoop of joy, Delirious breathless with a wide grin planted firmly on his face. He was indeed able to get the chair up on two wheels, and proceeded to spin Delirious in a circle before managing to set him gracefully back down. 

Delirious was bent over in laughter, his face open and carefree. Evan had never seen him like that, and he was momentarily stunned by how young he looked in that moment. Larry nudged him out of his stupor and he sprinted up the steps after them, coming to a stop in front of Delirious. 

“See? I told you this would be fun.” Evan said.

“We are having the wheelchair Olympics at two.” Marcel joked.

“I like this guy.” Delirious waved his hand over his shoulder in Marcel’s direction. 

Evan ignored the small pang of jealousy. “This is Marcel, Delirious. He’s my bodyguard.”

“You need a bodyguard?” Delirious asked, one eyebrow raised.

Before Evan could say anything to the contrary, Marcel spoke. “Of course he does. This man here is reckless. Plenty of enemies. I mean, do you _know_ how many people he’s killed?”

“I knew it!” Delirious punched the air. “Gang boss, right?”

“You better believe it! I can’t even tell you how many messes I’ve had to clean up because of him.” 

Evan rolled his eyes. “Okay, whatever, you idiots. Can we go inside now? Get some actual work done?”

“Better do what he says, Delirious. Don’t want to end up sleeping with the fishes.” Marcel faux-whispered as he wheeled the other man away.

“That’s the mafia, asshole!” Evan called after them.

They quickly received Delirious’ visitor pass- Evan had already had it arranged the day before- and headed up in the elevator to Evan’s office. 

“Where is everyone? Don’t you have employees?” Delirious asked as he looked around at the essentially empty office space. 

“Most people don't get in until eight.” Evan told him, holding open his door. “I like to get here early because I have investor meetings first thing and I need to be prepared. Those guys are vultures.”

“Your dad is one of them.” Marcel pointed out, parking Delirious’ chair to allow the man to maneuver onto the couch. 

“I said what I said.” 

“Well, I’m gonna leave you both to it. I have a meeting with the security team in twenty minutes.” Marcel said, walking towards the door. “Let me know if you guys need anything.”

“So,” Delirious said once Marcel had left. Evan had taken his seat behind his desk and wasted no time in removing his suit jacket. “How long have you known him?”

“I met Marcel in college. We played games together. We hired him on early for security. He’s really good at his job.” Evan told him. “He’s a good friend.”

Delirious nodded and stayed contemplatively silent, looking at the office with wide eyes.

“It’s a bit much.” Evan said, embarrassed. He loved his office; it was spacious and open, with a wonderful view of downtown Los Angeles. The furniture was simple, but elegant, and there was a long conference table with twelve chair sat around it on one side of his office. Admittedly, the fish tank had been his ex-girlfriend’s idea, and at the time he was quick to appease her. Now however, no matter the weird kinship he’d taken with the fish, it seemed a bit of overkill. 

“What’re their names?” 

Evan shrugged. “I never really named them. They just kind of keep me company.”

“That’s a little bit pathetic.” Delirious teased. He pointed to a particularly vibrant colored grouper. “I’m naming that one, Teddy.”

Evan laughed. “Okay. Teddy it is. I just have to make some phone calls and then I’m yours for the rest of the day. The focus group is at ten, but I figured I can bring you around and introduce you to some people. Maybe play some demos if you’re up for it. We have a horror game that’s in beta right now that I’m positive you’ll love.”

“Sounds good. I’ll just think of names for your other fish.” Delirious grinned and sat back, crossing his arms and staring intently at the tank across from him. 

Evan shook his head fondly, before turning to his phone to check the messages. 

After half an hour on the phone with various people, Evan was finally able to hang up the receiver and breathe a sigh of relief. Though he doubted highly that the focus group would go poorly, the company had a lot riding on this game. They weren’t financially wanting, but they needed to churn out something new and different in order to keep the investors happy and willing to open wallets and empty pockets. 

Games Inc. released about eight highly publicized games a year, not to mention countless other smaller console games. Their goal was to have two games a quarter, which was plenty to keep the investors content. However, with the rising market of video games, and the increasing competition, it was difficult to stay ahead. Evan had a feeling that bringing Delirious on board was exactly what his company needed.

He heard Tyler before he saw him, shouting instructions at his personal assistant as they walked down the hallway. 

“As soon as we get the focus group feedback in, I want a detailed report on my desk at estimated sales. And don’t forget to tell Constance in accounting that I need the quarterly report by noon so I can go over it. Oh, and I need you to set up a meeting with Harry about the expenditures from that trip to New York last week.” Tyler paused in his musings as he passed Evan’s office, poking his head in. “How is it that you make it in before even your assistant gets here?”

As if on cue, Mary, his blessed and wonderful assistant, squeezed past Tyler in the doorway with a large coffee in one hand. “As long as I’m here with coffee after his phone calls with the investors, Mr. Fong is more than happy.” She said with a polite smile as she handed him the cup. He nodded gratefully at her. Mary had been working for him for nearly ten years, and the two had a system. She turned to Delirious, not at all surprised to see him. “Mr. Fong informed me that he’d have a guest. Can I get you something to drink? Eat?”

“Er...no. I’m okay. Thanks.” Delirious said, flustered.

“You let me know, honey. I’m just up front.” Mary told him, before sweeping out of the office and taking a seat at her own desk. 

“So this is the famous Delirious.” Tyler walked further into the office, and Evan was mildly nervous about what he was going to say. “I’ve heard a lot about you, man. Evan doesn’t shut up.” He held out his hand, and Delirious shook it firmly. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“You too. Tyler, right? You’re Evan’s partner?” Delirious asked.

“That’s me. Has he told you where he hid the bodies yet? I’ve been trying to get it out of him, but he keeps telling me some shit about plausible deniability.” 

Evan threw a stress ball at Tyler’s head. “Get the hell out of my office and go do some work.” 

“You’re not the boss of me!” Tyler shouted gleefully as he impressively dodged the throw. “Oh, lunch today with Craig. He already made reservations for four.”

“Sounds good. I’m gonna take Delirious around the office. We’ll meet you at nine-thirty to go over any last minute things for the group before it starts.” Evan rifled in his desk for a minute, grabbing a manila envelope. “I meant to give these to you last night but here are the questionnaires and the demo tape. Just make sure everything is good to go.”

Tyler took the packet and turned it over in his hand. “How does it look?”

“Amazing.” Evan said truthfully. “With Delirious’ idea, I really think we have a best seller here.” 

Tyler looked over at the other man, who was just watching the interaction with careful eyes. “We have a spot open in R&D.”

“I don’t even know what that means.” Delirious said. Tyler laughed.

“Alright losers, I’ll catch you later.” Tyler left the office to head to his own.

Evan was grateful at the way Tyler handled the meeting of Delirious, despite having known him as a child. He treated him like anyone else, and not like a mental patient that Evan briefly thought many people had treated the other man before. 

“He is…” Delirious started, pausing as if he couldn’t quite capture the words to describe Evan’s best friend and partner.

“Yeah, he is.” Evan responded with a grin. He stood, pushing his chair back. “Come on, let’s go see Lui.”

Despite Delirious not knowing what R&D was, Evan was pleased to find that he was extremely interested in the finer points of Research and Development. 

“So a lot of what I do is research trends. I look at social media and see what people want, what new themes are up and coming, and then I send it out to other members of my team to get a storyboard together.” Lui was telling him. “Obviously, with the latest game, zombies are still a huge hit. But without your idea, our game would have been just like the others on the market. As soon as we got the report, my team was able to put together a demo package for the developers, who were able to come up with a trailer. All in all, I think it’s going to be really awesome.”

“So you guys are the ones who actually create the games?” Delirious asked, intently focused on the storyboard that was laid out in front of him. 

“Well, that’s the development part of R&D. I’m head of the research team. But yeah, basically.” Lui said proudly. “Once we get the game developed, we send it down to testing. They can work out any bugs in the game, or in the code, and then they send us a report for us to fix it. Once we get it into beta testing, we send it out and get reports from the general public. Then we can release it to the majority.”

“That is awesome.” Delirious said, clearly in awe. “And this is the zombie game?” He asked, pointing to the board.

“This is the zombie perspective for it, yeah. The hunter one is over there.” Lui pointed to the far wall, where various other storyboards hung. 

“I can’t believe you did all of this from one stupid idea.”

“You’re idea was not stupid, Delirious. In fact, it may be the cause of the game being our highest selling game ever.” Evan said pointedly. “Don’t sell yourself short.”

Delirious tried to hide his blush by bending over the storyboard again, but Evan saw it. 

“Oi, Evan. Just the man I wanted to see.” Evan turned his head to the approaching figure. Nogla was grinning at him as he approached the desk. 

“Really? Cause my office isn’t even on this floor.” Evan raised his eyebrow.

“Oh, and who is this?” Nogla asked as he spotted Delirious, effectively evading the question. Evan knew good and well that Nogla was just trying to visit Lui. The fraternization paperwork had just come through, and was sitting on his desk waiting to be filed, though he had yet to tell the couple that. 

Evan tsked, wanting to mess with the pair just a bit before telling them the news. “Now, now, David. Fraternizing in front of your boss? That’s grounds for dismissal.”

Nogla balked, and Evan burst out laughing. “The paperwork is on my desk. I’ll have Mary file it as soon as I get back up there. Just try to keep it on your own time, yeah?”

“You’re a fuck stick, Fong.” Nogla retorted.

Delirious laughed. “That’s a new one. I think I’ll use that.”

“Nogla, this is Delirious, a friend of mine. I’m showing him around the office.” Evan introduced the two.

Nogla shook his hand. “You guys planning on coming down to the bunker?”

“No one wants to see boring IT, Nogla.” Lui said in his squeaker voice. Delirious turned his head in surprise. 

“What the hell?”

“Ignore him, he’s a child.” Nogla said fondly. “And IT isn’t boring. We make sure that you can safely search the internet and work without people stealing your ideas. And you should see how many people try to access porn.” He winked at Delirious.

Evan looked up at that. “What?”

“It’s a joke, boss man.” Nogla laughed. “If anyone tries they get a big fat picture of Tyler’s arse as their screensaver until I can get up there.”

“I don’t even want to know. Actually, scratch that. How often has that happened exactly?” Evan asked.

“Let’s just say a lot of people have seen Tyler’s rear.”

“How do you even have...nevermind. It happens again, let me know.” Evan tapped Delirious on the shoulder. “Want to go test out some games?”

“Do zombies eat people?” Delirious asked redundantly. 

He handled the wheelchair towards the elevator. “Five minutes you two, then back to work.”

Tom was expecting them, and already had a station set up for them to try the latest indie horror game that was being beta tested. 

“We don't get the boss down here often to test.” Tom explained as the other people in the department sent curious glances their way. 

“Too important?” Delirious taunted. 

Evan shrugged. “Too busy. I wish I could have an easy life like Tom’s and play games all day.” 

Tom scoffed, swatting the back of Evan’s head playfully. “Easy? You're a slave driver!”

“And you're dramatic.” Evan fired back. 

“I won’t deny it. I’ll let you two get to it. I expect a full report.” Tom said, snorting and going back to sit at his desk.

“All of your employees treat you like a normal guy.” Delirious said after a minute, curiosity in his tone.

“I _am_ a normal guy. I treat everyone with respect and they give it to me in turn. Tom and Lui, even Nogla, they’ve been working for me since the beginning really. We’re all friends first, coworkers second.” Evan explained. “I’m not just the guy that signs their paychecks.”

“Tom...is there some history there?” Evan was thrown by the question, and Delirious looked embarrassed by even bringing it up. His eyes were glued to the screen in front of him, not daring to look at Evan.

“How did you know?”

“Just the way you guys acted around each other.” Delirious said. Evan wasn’t sure what Delirious saw, but he didn’t think he’d acted any differently than the way he did with his other friends. 

“We dated for a while, but we’re just friends now.” Evan told him. 

Delirious just nodded, and Evan took it as an end to the conversation.

The pair killed time by playing the game, and by the end of the hour, it was just about time to head up for the focus group. Evan stopped by Tom’s desk to hand over a list of bugs he’d found, before wheeling Delirious back to the elevators.

Tyler was already waiting in the conference room, papers strewn out in front of him and a coffee leaving an obscene ring on the wooden table when he lifted it to his mouth. 

“What did I tell you about coasters, Tyler?” Evan said, exasperated. “That table is worth more than you are.”

“Kiss my ass.” Tyler said, without much venom. 

Evan removed a chair next to his own, and pushed Delirious right up to the table. He sat down next to him, and pulled a piece of paper from the file.

“Nogla is setting up the room now, and then he’ll set up the screen in here.” Tyler said, not looking up from his own folder. “Everyone else should be in here shortly.”

“Are these the same people that we had last time?” Evan asked.

“With the exception of two, yeah. Figured it would be best to have the same people see what was changed.” Tyler said. 

“Basically, what we’re going to do is play the demo trailer to the group.” Evan told Delirious. “Then Lui will be in with a questionnaire and will get the reactions from everyone. If all goes well, we can go ahead and green-light the project and the developers can get started.”

Nogla walked in then, carrying a laptop. He waved hello, before going to the end of the table to set up. With a flick of a button, a large projector screen descended from the ceiling. Within minutes, Nogla had a live broadcast of the focus group room, complete with audio.

“Wow.” Delirious said, impressed.

Nogla winked once more, before leaving the room. Others started to trickle in, mostly people on the R&D team responsible for the game. Evan fiddled with the conference phone at the center of the table and dialed the number for their sister office in Ireland. Brian picked up on the first ring. 

“Hello, comrades.” The Irishman said. “Everyone ready for a great meeting?”

“Can you see the feed, Brian?” Evan asked.

“Loud and clear.” 

“Okay,” Tyler stood. “Let’s go ahead and get started then. As you all know, this is the second focus group we’ve had for this game. Thanks to our friend here,” he motioned to Delirious. “We have a very good chance of green-lighting this project today. If that’s the case, then I want this project to be your top priority. Right now, our estimated beta release is five months from now. I have faith that you guys can get it out well before then.”

“I want any and all ideas that the group has to be written down.” Evan said, chiming in. “We’ll have a meeting later on in the week to go over them, as well as some others.”

“I’ve already compiled a list of potential beta testers.” Brian said. 

“Alright, let’s get this show on the road.” Tyler said, sitting back down. The group watched as Marcel led a gaggle of people into the room on the projector. They all sat down at the table, facing a large television that was set high on the wall. Lui walked in, stood behind the podium, and addressed the crowd.

“Welcome everyone to the second focus group for our latest game. Most of you have been here before, but for those of you who haven’t, here is what you can expect.” Lui explained how the meeting would go, and then proceeded to introduce the game and the changes that they had made. 

The demo played, and Evan could see right off that it had captured the audience’s attention. He shared a quick fist bump with Tyler, who seemed to have the same revelation. 

The reviews were almost unanimous-with the exception of the one guy in the front who found fault in nearly every aspect of the demo- and Evan felt comfortable moving forward with the project. A few things needed to be changed, as well as a few ideas that were good enough to warrant some research, but otherwise, he was sure that the group had been a success. 

“You guys did all of that in a week?” Delirious asked when they were back in Evan’s office.

“Lui is really good at what he does. And our development team is the best.” Evan said. “What did you think?”

“What did I think? It was amazing! I can’t believe you did that with my little suggestion.” Delirious was grinning. “I can’t wait to play it.”

“I can’t either actually.” Evan agreed. “So, do you still think I’m a gang boss?”

“I’m still not ruling it out. But your job is pretty fucking awesome. Besides all of the phone calls.” Delirious conceded. 

“Yeah, I could do without those, too.” Evan sighed. He knew he had a lot of calls to make after lunch about the project and he was not looking forward to it. “You hungry?”

“Starving.” Delirious responded. 

“Good. You can meet Tyler’s husband.” Evan grabbed his jacket and wallet. “The restaurant isn’t far, so I figured we could walk. Well, I can walk, and you can sit.” 

Delirious grumbled. “Fine.”

Tyler met them in front of his office, phone attached to his ear. “Yes, dear. We’re on the way.” He rolled his eyes. “The meeting ran a little longer. I’ll tell you about it when I see you. Yeah, okay. Love you too.” He pocketed his phone. “He’s worse than a nagging wife, I swear to god.”

“And yet, you married him anyway.” Evan said.

“The sex is good.”

“Goddammit, Tyler!”

Delirious was still laughing as they walked down the street to the small Italian restaurant. Craig was waiting outside, sans suit jacket. “Took you guys long enough.”

Tyler kissed him briefly, slipping an arm around his waist. “It’s nice to see you too, babe.”

Craig ignored him, deciding instead to extend a hand to Delirious. “I’m Craig. It’s nice to finally meet you. Sorry you had to hang out with my obnoxious oaf of a husband all day.”

Tyler pouted. “But you love me.”

“Nice to meet you too.” Delirious responded. “He’s not been bad. Maybe a little loud.”

“Hey!” A shout of indignation.

“See what I mean?” Delirious said, laughing. 

"Shall we?” Evan motioned for the door and the four were seated promptly by the hostess. 

“How did you two meet?” Delirious asked, sipping on his coke. “You don’t work for the company, right?”

“I have my own PR firm.” Craig told him. “I consult for Games Inc. I was hired on when Tyler here had his ass displayed on various news rags. That was a lot to cover up, let me tell you.”

“Oh, so that’s how Nogla has a picture of your ass.” Delirious concluded, and Evan nearly shot water across the table.

“Nogla has what?!” Tyler glared at Evan.

“What?” Delirious said innocently, a giggle betraying his mask. Evan was ecstatic that Delirious was acting so comfortably among his friends. He was really starting to come out of his shell, and Evan knew that today had been a good idea.

Lunch went by smoothly, deciding to belay the work talk to a meeting they would have the next day. Instead they talked about things to do that weekend, or old horror stories about their time in college.

By the time they paid, Evan could tell that Delirious was waning in energy. On the walk back, after saying goodbye to Craig, he offered up a proposition. “So, I have a few things left to do at the office, but I can have Larry take you back home now, and I’ll leave once I get my phone calls done. We’ll have Chinese for dinner if you want.”

“Yeah, a nap sounds good right now.” Delirious said, stifling a yawn. Evan thought back to earlier this morning, when Delirious mentioned that he didn’t sleep well the night before. He decided once again not to bring it up.

“Perfect. I’ll text Larry to get the car around front.”

With Delirious secured in the backseat of the car with his crutches, Evan waved them off before bringing the wheelchair to reception. He made his way back to his office for the second round of investor phone calls, as well as a few conference calls with the marketing reps and a conference call with the board. It was nearing three when he was all finished, and he waved goodbye to Mary as he left the office for the day. 

He called in their food order from the backseat of the car, and it was ready by the time Larry pulled up to his favorite Chinese take out. 

It was another ten minutes before he was in his apartment building, in the elevator headed up to the penthouse, and laden with a bag of deliciously smelling food. A bag which he almost dropped as he heard screams coming from inside his apartment. He scrambled for his keys, and threw open the door, ready to fight whoever was hurting his friend.

But what he saw was not a threat. Delirious was curled up in the chair, having finally fallen victim to its trap, and was screaming obscenities at the television. Evan recognized the game he was playing as the Boogeyman game they had released the year before. 

“Having fun?”

Delirious screamed again, twisting uncomfortably in the chair to glare at him. “Stop doing that!”

Evan laughed as he shut the door behind him and walked into the kitchen to place the bags on the counter. “You scare pretty easy.”

“I wasn’t expecting you home so soon.” Delirious commented as he heaved himself out of the chair and balanced his weight on his crutches. 

“I brought food, as promised.” Evan started to unload the bag as Delirious took a seat. The two ate in comfortable silence, Evan trying very hard not to watch as Delirious slurped the lo mein between his lips. 

“Can we marathon Batman tonight?” Delirious asked suddenly, pushing his container away. 

“Dude, of course we can.” Evan told him, grinning. He quickly cleaned up, placing their leftovers in the fridge. He was surprised to see that Delirious had forgone the chair to sit on the couch. At his questioning gaze, he merely said something about not wanting to fall asleep halfway through the first movie.

So Evan set up the movie, and sat down next to the other man, throwing his arm to rest on the back of the couch. 

The got through the first one, and most of the second, before Evan felt himself nodding off. It had been a long day, and an even longer week. Between getting Delirious settled in his home, trying to get the game green-lit at work, and working through his own tumult of feelings toward the amnesiac, Evan wasn’t surprised that he was out like a light at eight.

He _was_ surprised, however, to wake hours later with a warm presence nestled on his chest. He looked down, blinking the sleep from his eyes, and saw Delirious sleeping soundly. His mouth was slightly open, and Evan could feel the damp spot on his chest from the drool. Evan also noticed the way his own arm was curled comfortably around Delirious’ waist, or how pleasant the whole experience felt. Delirious looked so peaceful in his sleep: so youthful and worry-free. It reminded Evan more of how he used to know him, when he wasn’t Delirious, and was only Jonathan, his best friend in the entire world. The kid who used to eat rocks on the playground, or beg to be buried in the sand whenever they went to the beach.

He really despised the fact that he had to disturb the sleeping man, but he knew that they would both be in for a world of pain if they continued to sleep in these positions. They weren’t as young as they used to be, and there was nothing like getting a good night's rest in a comfortable bed-even if they were in separate beds.

Evan gently retracted his arm from Delirious’ waist, and shook his shoulder. “Hey, come on. Let’s get you into bed.”

“No.” Delirious mumbled, burrowing deeper. 

“Delirious...:”

The man jolted upright, finally aware of their precarious positioning. Evan watched as he blushed deeply, and ran a hand through his hair. “Oh. Um, sorry.”

“No need to apologize. Let’s get you to bed.” Evan helped him stand and handed him the crutches. Delirious seemed more awake than a moment ago and managed to make it to his bedroom without Evan’s help. 

He stood awkwardly at the door as he watched Delirious head into the closet for a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt. He placed them on the bed and sat, looking at Evan. “Thanks for today. It was fun.”

“No problem. I’m glad you came with me. Get some sleep, I’ll see you in the morning.” Evan closed the door with a little reluctance, wanting to say so much more.

As he laid in his own bed, his mind was a whirl of emotions. As much as he wanted their relationship to be something more, it wasn’t what Delirious’ needed. He needed a friend, and Evan was more than content to be that for him.


	9. Comfortable is Fleeting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's two months later, and we're finally getting to the crux of things.

It was seven in the morning, later than usual for Delirious to wake. He supposed it had something to do with two months of comfortable, and safe, sleep. 

He stared at himself in the mirror, gazing intently at the different person who was looking back at him. His face had filled out considerably since his days on the street. His hair was short now, a simple buzz cut, and he was clean shaven. He hadn't looked this way since he graduated high school. 

Which was another issue. His memories were starting to come back, slowly but steadily. Mostly, they came to him while he slept, and it had taken him a while to piece together the fact that they were memories, instead of intricate and descriptive dreams. 

He remembered the last year of high school, he remembered moving out of his mother’s house at twenty-two, he remembered the day his father left. 

What he couldn't remember, no matter how hard he tried, or begged, was Evan. 

It was the one thing he wanted to remember more than anything. 

His work with Luke had been more helpful than he could have even imagined. Once he started thinking about Jonathan as more than a stranger, but an integral part of himself, it was easier to remember. It was like a block on his mind had been lifted. Luke helped him through different therapy techniques, some successful and others not. But he couldn’t deny that the bits and pieces of his life that had come back were because of the swift kick in the ass that Luke had given him those few months ago.

Jonathan was coming back, and while he was slightly relieved, mostly Delirious was terrified. Despite the memories, he didn’t know how to be anyone other than Delirious. He was a man who had survived on his own for nearly five years, many times without food, water, or shelter.

Evan had changed that, turned him completely on his head. He’d provided those essentials, plus infinitely more. He had become a friend, a best friend. 

Delirious looked back, trying to pinpoint when exactly Evan had become maybe even more than a friend.

Most of his time was spent with Evan, either on the couch with a movie or video game, or out to dinner with Tyler and Craig. On the nights they stayed in, Evan would try new recipes, expanding his cooking skills with Delirious as the willing guinea pig. It was horribly domestic, and Delirious couldn’t help but feel that he had signed onto a relationship without his knowledge. But Evan never pushed; his touches never lingered, and his words were never anything but platonic. It was the sly glances when he didn’t think Delirious was looking, it was the way he always made sure Delirious was okay and comfortable before leaving the apartment in the morning; those were the instances where Delirious believed that Evan possibly felt the same way he did. 

He hadn’t told Evan about the memories; he was afraid that things would change, and not for the better. Now that he was getting better, and his cast was coming off later that morning, would Evan see that he was no longer his burden to bear? 

It wasn’t as if he was trying to take advantage of the other man’s hospitality; Delirious just wasn’t sure he’d be able to give up Evan without breaking himself in the process. 

Delirious also didn’t want to leave behind his new friends. There were nights when Evan had a business meeting that he regretfully couldn’t bring Delirious along to, and Marcel would show up randomly at the door, typically with a pizza and Mario Kart. The two got along amazingly, exchanging biting messages nearly every day. Delirious would tease him about his lax job, and Marcel would fire back with a text about him lazing around the house and milking his injury. They were also extremely competitive, and on more than one occasion, Marcel had stormed out of the apartment, screaming about Delirious cheating on whatever game they were playing that night.

He had also gotten to know Craig and Tyler a lot more. He and Craig would usually have their own conversations over dinner, while Evan and Tyler spoke about work. As for Tyler, Delirious was starting to find some things familiar about him, such as his loud, abrasive voice, or the way he towered over every one of his friends and employees. Delirious suspected it had something to do with the fact that he had known him before as children-though he had yet to fully remember him- and he hadn’t grown up too much. 

More often than not, on the days that Delirious didn’t have therapy or a doctor’s appointment, Evan would take him to Games Inc. to sit with Lui or Tom. He’d helped a lot with the zombie game, and even helped Lui research information and ideas for a first person shooter game based in World War Two. Tom was more than happy to have him, even setting up an unused desk to be unofficially his whenever he was down. 

To be quite honest, the past two months had been the best of his life, and he was horrified that it was all about to end. He was no longer Evan’s responsibility, and there was no longer a reason to stay. 

The thoughts made him sullen, and he watched as his face dropped in sadness. He couldn't let himself have these feelings, or it would make leaving infinitely harder. So he packed them up, storing them deep within, and forced a smile on his face. It turned out to be more of a grimace, and he sighed at his reflection. 

There was a knock at his bedroom door before Evan opened it, a wide grin on his face and dressed in casual clothes. Jonathan hobbled out into the bedroom-he had been able to put more pressure on his injured leg, the doctor even placing a structured brace so he could do so- and crossed his arms. “You really don't have to come with me.”

Evan snorted. “And miss this? No way. Besides, I have a full day planned for us. Come on, D, I made breakfast.” 

Evan had indeed made breakfast, and the impressive spread made Delirious suspicious. Was this the last breakfast he'd have with the other man? 

He tried his best to keep up the conversation, but the intrusive thoughts were burning a hole in his mind. 

Which was why, as they neared the hospital half an hour later, Delirious wasn't surprised when Evan called him out on his mood. 

“What's wrong with you today? I thought you'd be happy to finally get this cast off.” He said, taking his eyes from the road briefly. Evan had elected to drive them, graciously giving Larry the day off. 

“Nothing. I'm fine.”

“Bullshit. What's going on in that head of yours?” Evan inquired further. 

“I guess I'm just nervous the x-rays won't come back positive and I'll have to be in the cast longer.” It was a half-truth, but Evan seemed to be placated by it. 

“I'm sure it'll be fine, D. The last ones looked great, Dr. Montoya said so himself.” Evan said as they pulled into a parking space. “Don’t worry so much.”

Cathy was waiting for them at the front desk, casually talking to the volunteer that ran it during the week. She was a kind old lady, and Delirious enjoyed his talks with her during his visits to the hospital. Cathy looked up, offering the pair a smile, before saying goodbye to the woman and motioning for them to follow her.

“How have you been feeling?” She asked as they made their way through the intricate hallways. 

“Good,” Delirious answered, trying to keep up on his crutches. “There is still some pain but it’s not bad. And I’ve been trying to walk more.”

“I hope you haven’t been over doing it.” Cathy admonished gently. “There was a lot of damage.”

“I’ve made sure he hasn’t.” Evan answered her. “He mostly only walks at home. He’s on his crutches or a wheelchair whenever we go out.”

She nodded slightly as she opened a door to a white, pristine room. There were instruments on one wall, ones that looked incredibly intimidating to Delirious as he pulled himself up on the examination table. 

Cathy must have seen his hesitation, for she smiled encouragingly. “The saw has collapsible blades. It will only cut through the cast. If it touches skin, the blades fold so you won’t be cut. Don’t worry, I’ve been doing this for years.”

“I thought he needed x-rays?” Evan asked from his seat in the corner.

“Dr. Montoya wants to take the cast off first, and then I’ll take you down to x-ray.” She explained, getting the tools and materials ready for the procedure. “He thinks the last x-rays were pretty showing, and he has little doubt that they’ve changed.”

Evan shot Delirious a smug look, and he rolled his eyes in response. 

Cathy demonstrated the saw against her own skin, showing Delirious that there really wasn’t anything to be worried about, and proceeded to cut the cast off of his injured leg. The result was stark white, wrinkled skin, with a large scar running down the side of his calf. 

“The site of the surgery looks like it’s healed wonderfully.” Cathy said as she examined his leg. “And you have a great range of motion. Does this hurt?” She asked as she rotated his ankle first, then bent his knee at a ninety-degree angle.

“It feels stiff, but there isn’t really any pain.” Delirious told her.

“That’s great. Okay, I’m going to take you to get some x-rays, and once he looks at them, Dr. Montoya will be in to talk to you.” 

Evan was left in the room as she commandeered a wheelchair and wheeled him towards radiology. The x-ray took less than five minutes as the techs made him sit and stand in various positions to get the right picture. He’d been through these motions before, and it was like second nature at this point. 

He was back in the room for twenty minutes, pointedly ignoring Evan and his concerned looks by playing games on his phone. He was hardly ever quiet, and he knew that Evan was getting suspicious. But he still couldn’t get himself out of the funk he was in. He really should be making the best of his last day with Evan, but all he could think about was that it _was_ their last day together and the thought left a bitter taste in his mouth. 

Evan had just opened his mouth to speak when Dr. Montoya walked into the room. “Hello, boys! Great to see you both again.” He shook their hands, and sat on a stool. “Great news: your x-rays look fabulous and Cathy told me that your range of motion is good. It’s normal for people who have been without use of those muscles for so long to feel stiff and sore, and it’ll probably take you a while before you’ll be back to using your leg freely. I’m going to put you in a walking boot, but I still want you to use your crutches when you’re going long distances so that you don’t tire yourself out or cause further damage. And I want you to start going to physical therapy twice a week to build those muscles back up. Other than that, you are officially released from my care! I'll st up physical therapy for you, and I want you to go twice a week. I’ll ask that you come in for a follow up in a few months, just to see how therapy is working, and so that we can take some more pictures. And don’t hesitate to call the office if you have any problems. Do you have any questions right now?”

Delirious shook his head, and Dr. Montoya grinned before standing and shaking their hands once more. “Well then, you boys have a great rest of the day. And congratulations, Delirious.” He left the room as quickly as he had come, most likely going to deal with other patients.

Evan stood up and clapped his hands once. “This is amazing! Also, your leg looks disgusting. We need to get you out in the sun.”

“It’ll be an uneven tan.” Delirious pointed out.

“We’ll just cover your other leg.” Evan told him. 

Delirious felt like a fraud as he laughed, trying his best to feign happiness. 

Once he was fitted into his walking boot, he experimentally took a few steps. The sensation was weird, his foot and leg feeling more free than it had in months, and he stumbled. Evan reached out to brace him, and Delirious reluctantly pulled away. “I’m good.”

Evan was frowning as they got back into his car. “I’m not sure what is wrong with you today, but I’m hoping you’ll tell me when you’re ready.”

Delirious didn’t answer him, electing instead to look out of the window at the passing world. When he noticed that they weren’t headed back to the apartment, he turned back towards Evan with a questioning look. “Where are we going?” 

“It’s a surprise. I told you I had an entire day planned. I took the day off for this.” Evan smiled at him. 

“Things will go into anarchy without you there.”

“More like Tyler will start running everything like a dictator.” Evan laughed. “I’m not worried. He can’t do much damage in one day.

“You think. By the time you get back on Monday, your office will be a dirt track so he can 4-wheel.” Delirious told him. 

Evan had a strange look on his face then, and Delirious realized immediately that he had slipped up. 

“How did you know that Tyler used to 4-wheel?” Evan asked him. 

“He told me.” Delirious said quickly. In actuality, it was one of the few things he was starting to remember about Tyler. But Evan still didn't know, and it certainly wasn't the time to tell him. 

“Oh.” The look lingered, but Evan thankfully didn't push. “You're probably right. Anyway, we're here.” 

Delirious wasn't sure where _here_ was. He looked around as Evan maneuvered gracefully into a spot.They were at a YMCA, though he had no idea why. 

“What are we doing here?” He asked. 

Evan just winked as he reached into the backseat and pulled forward a backpack. “I told you, surprise. Now come on. Do you need your crutches or do you think you can walk?”

Delirious took the crutches, just in case, and followed Evan into the building. The other man paid for a day pass, before leading Delirious to the locker room. 

He pulled a pair of swim trunks, and two towels, from the bag. “I took your swim trunks before we left. Now that your cast is off, I figured we could do some good old fashioned water therapy. It'll feel amazing. Trust me. When I broke my ankle when I was playing hockey in college, my personal trainer swore by this.” 

Delirious just managed to catch the trunks as Evan threw them at him. He was too preoccupied by the idea of Evan doing something so thoughtful, and Delirious felt a pang in his chest. This was like the build up of clouds before a storm, before the sky opened up and let down a barrage of lightning and rain that ruined everything in its path. That's how he felt. He felt like he was about to drown. Why did this all have to end? And if it did, why was Evan keeping up the charade? 

“Are you just gonna sit there or are you gonna change? I only have the pool for an hour.” Evan grinned, already having shed his jeans to reveal red swim trunks underneath. 

“You bought out the pool for an hour?” Delirious asked as he stood hesitantly. “Just for this?”

“I didn't want us to be interrupted. And I didn't want any kids around to splash us.” Evan said sheepishly. 

Delirious blushed at the implication of the words; what could possibly be interrupted? “I'll just go change.” He said as he stumbled off towards the shower stalls. He sat down on the bench, carefully removing the boot. He experimentally placed some pressure on it, and winced in pain. Within the structured support of the boot, the pain was minimal. Evan would have to help him walk to the pool. The idea of Evan’s arms around him made him blush again, and he quickly shoved the thought from his mind to avoid embarrassment. 

He shed his own shorts and replaced them with the trunks, taking his shirt off quickly after. Evan was waiting for him as he limped from the stall, and without a word, Evan wrapped an arm around Delirious’ waist. 

“Do you want your crutches?” Evan asked, and Delirious was too preoccupied with the feeling of skin on skin contact that he didn't answer right away. 

“Uh...no. No, I think I'll be okay.”

“Don't worry, I'll help you.” Evan said softly, and there was a weird tone to his voice. He didn't dwell on it, and instead let Evan lead him to the pool area. 

The entire arena was warm and humid, yet Delirious felt a shudder go through his body as soon as Evan removed his arm and sat him down on a bench. 

“Are you cold?” Evan asked him.

Delirious flushed in embarrassment. “No.”

Evan smirked at him, as if he knew exactly _why_ Delirious had shivered. “Just excited then, I guess, huh?”

“Shut up and help me into the pool.” Delirious glared without much heat and held out his hand. 

Evan took it without hesitation and helped him back to his feet. “You’re lucky you’re injured or your ass would be thrown in.”

They were close enough to the pool, and Delirious had a delightful idea. “Yeah? Well, guess what? You’re not!” He pushed off of Evan, making sure to balance himself equally, and watched as Evan went flying into the pool with a yell. 

“You dick!” Evan shouted as he emerged from the water, sputtering and shaking his head. 

Delirious was laughing hysterically, bent over with tears leaking from his eyes. “Oh my god.” He wheezed. “You should have seen your face!” 

“Real fucking hilarious, asshole.” Evan said, but he was grinning. “Get your ass in here before I come out and make you.”

The laughter rushed out of him with a _whoosh_ at the words. Evan didn’t mean anything sexual by it, but he could imagine those words said in _much_ different circumstances; maybe a dip in the pool would help clear away those dirty wanderings. 

He sat down at the edge, and gently lowered himself into the water. It was warm, but not altogether unpleasant. He walked a few steps on his leg, and felt hardly any pain. The pressure of the pool was keeping the pressure on his leg to a minimum, and Delirious wondered if he could just stay in the pool until his leg healed completely. 

Delirious grinned at Evan, grateful that the other man had thought of the plan. 

“I told you!” Evan answered his unspoken praise. “If we do this a few times a week, on top of your other physical therapy, you’ll be better in no time!”

Delirious frowned. A few times a week? Evan surely didn’t mean that. That would mean he was planning on keeping Delirious around for longer, and Delirious couldn’t harbor the hope that that was the case. Instead, he pushed the negative feelings about his situation away, let them be carried by the jets to the far end of the pool. While he was there, he was going to make the best of the day, and whatever happened later, he would deal with it then.

So he walked towards Evan, and splashed the other man in the face. 

“Dude! Are you trying to drown me today?” 

“You can overpower me. Gotta take my hits when I can get them.” Delirious said, laughing. 

“Oh yeah?” Delirious didn’t get a chance to brace himself before Evan had his arms behind his back and under his knees, lifting him up out of the water. Without warning, he plunged both of them under water, holding it for a few seconds before straightening up. “How’s that for overpowering?”

“Asshole!” Delirious was grinning wildly. This was the most fun he’d had with Evan. When Evan didn’t release him right away, he looked at the man, who’s cheeks were suddenly red. “Uh, Ev? You can put me down now.”

“What? Oh, right.” Evan set him down gently. “Let’s walk a few laps, then you can sit on the stairs and kick out like you’re treading water.”

They spent the entirety of the hour in the pool, laughing and playing. It turned more into an impromptu pool party for two than a physical therapy objective. There was Evan almost drowning while he laughed so hard that he fell over as Delirious was chasing him around the pool, comically bouncing on one leg. This was after Evan had rudely cannonballed directly in front of him, causing a wave of water to hit him in the face. He had gotten his revenge, as he ducked under water and grabbed Evan’s ankle, causing the man to be submerged. Delirious almost felt bad when Evan came back up, struggling to cough out the water in his lungs. That was, until Evan super saiyan’d him with another wall of water. He didn’t feel quite so badly anymore.

At one point, Delirious had hopped on Evan’s back, shouting “Giddy Up!” and Evan obligingly pranced around the pool with his arms secured around Delirious’ legs. 

Evan was sitting next to him while he was treading water when the first sounds of the public returned to the arena. They both looked to the door and watched as a gaggle of children squealed before running into the pool. 

“Well, looks like playtime is over.” Evan said, sighing.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. It looks like they’re playing just fine.” Delirious joked as he nodded to the kids. 

Evan nudged him with his shoulder. “ _Our_ playtime is over. Happy?”

“Not particularly, but mainly because I have to get out of the water. My legs weren’t meant for dry land, Evan!” Delirious pouted.

“Alright, Ariel.” Evan laughed.

Delirious stood, using Evan’s shoulder as a balance. “Technically, Ariel _wanted_ to be on dry land. She wanted to be a human like her prince.”

“I don’t even want to know why you know that.”

“Everyone has seen the Little Mermaid!” Delirious said frantically. “How have you not seen such a classic?”

“I’ve seen it.” Evan stood and helped him out of the water. “I’m just not as invested into childhood movies as you are.”

“You’re a heathen.” Delirious told him seriously. 

“When did you even _watch_ that movie?” 

Delirious floundered. He couldn’t tell Evan he remembered it from when he was a child, and he was angry at himself for another slip up. “While you were at work one day.” He lied smoothly. “Disney was having a marathon.”

Evan shook his head. They had made it back to the locker room and he was busy getting towels out of the locker to pass to Delirious. “And you just sat around and watched kid movies all day?”

“Everyone's a kid at heart, Evan.” 

“Go get changed.” Evan said as he ran a towel through his own hair. “You are not sitting on my leather seats in wet clothes.”

“I wouldn’t want to mess up your precious Night Owl Mobile.” He teased as he stood on one foot. “Can you hand me my crutches?”

Delirious’ mind started to wander again as Evan stopped on the way home for dinner. He was getting their favorite pizza, and Delirious wondered again if it would be their last meal together.

The day was coming to an end, and so was their friendship. He’d had such an amazing time at the pool, he’d completely forgotten that he had to go back to Evan’s apartment and pack. 

They sky looked gray, and Delirious sullenly thought that it matched his mood perfectly.

He got attached, and it was completely his own fault.

He’d gotten attached to the apartment, and his new friends. He’d gotten attached to having clothes, and food, and a TV. He’d gotten attached to _Evan_.

That was his worst mistake in all of it. He had sworn that he would see this as a temporary arrangement, that he and Evan would be acquaintances, and nothing more. But as the months waned on, he’d fallen in love.

Delirious had a sick feeling that he’d been in love once before, long before his memories had fled his mind. He couldn’t bring back the name, just like he couldn’t bring back the memories of Evan.

He knew it was the new memories with Evan that mattered in the long run. Those would be the ones that he’d flash back to when he was back on the streets. 

He was silent all the way back home, and he didn’t miss the concerned glances Evan kept throwing his way. 

How do you tell the man that you were about to leave that you loved him?

They were sitting on the couch, a movie playing on the TV, and Delirious lost in thought as he ate. 

What would Evan let him take when he left? All of his clothes technically belonged to Evan, and besides, Delirious would only be able to take a little bit. He did have to carry it all around with him as he moved place to place.

He was savoring the pizza, terrified because he wasn’t sure when his next meal would be.

Evan slammed his plate town on the coffee table and Delirious dropped his pizza on his lap in surprise.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Evan had completely turned in his seat and glared at him. “You have been off all day. I figured you would tell me what was bothering you when you were ready to, but I’ve had enough.”

And then Delirious was angry. He’d had enough? Fine.

“Why are you stringing this along?” He spat, placing his own plate on the table. “We are sitting here, eating, when I should be packing what little I have and finally leaving. You don’t owe me anything anymore.”

“What the hell are you talking about? Why would you be packing?” The confused look on Evan’s face just managed to make him madder.

“Don’t you fucking dare patronize me, Evan. You've been waiting for the day you got rid of me. You don't have to worry about feeding me or paying for my hospital bills or therapy sessions. You're free and clear. I'm not your burden to bear anymore.” He knew he was being unfair, and was lashing out, but it seemed like the best way to make a clean break.

“Are we really back to this? You were never a burden, Delirious. Do you think I’d do all of this for someone I wanted to get rid of?” Evan narrowed his eyes. 

“You’re still holding on to the hope that Jonathan is coming back!” Delirious said, clarity seeping through. “You think you know me!”

“I do fucking know you!”

“No, you don’t! You’ve been stringing this whole thing along, making me comfortable before kicking me to the curb. And my dumbass got too close. I got comfortable.” Delirious shook his head. He was to blame.

“I’m not kicking you out, you idiot! I was going to offer you a job in R&D.” Evan threw his hands up in the air.

“So you have another thing to lord over me? Thanks, but no thanks. I'm already indebted to you for the rest of my life. You've spent so much money…”

“I don't like talking about the numbers…” 

Delirious threw himself to his feet, ignoring the rush of pain in his leg. “That's because you don't have to!” He shouted. “Money is just something you have! You can do whatever you want with it! I don’t have the same luxury. Nor can I be at your mercy anymore.” With one last look at Evan, he limped to the door. His trusted hoodie was on the hook by it, and he took it quickly. His crutches were in the other room, but if he wanted a chance at a quick getaway, he’d have to manage without. He threw open the door, Evan’s protests bouncing off of his back. 

“Where the hell are you going? Delirious! You’re still injured! Delirious!”

He slammed the door and made it to the elevator just as it was reopening. Evan appeared in the hallway and made a beeline straight towards him. He punched the door-closed button, and they managed to shut just as Evan had almost reached him.

Delirious tried to forget the look of utter _pain_ on the other man’s face as he made a fast pace from the building. Evan was fast, so he’d have to be faster, bum leg and all. 

Thunder boomed ominously as he walked towards an alley. He knew the city by heart, and knew there was a homeless encampment not too far away. 

He could hear Evan shouting his name, but there was no way he would be able to find him. He was already hidden by the shadows, working his way through the back alleys and cross streets. This is what he knew.

He was greeted with open arms as he stumbled into the camp, old friends coming out to welcome him and offer him blankets. 

“We missed you, Delirious!”

“Where have you been?”

“I need to tell you something about Carl.”

He ignored them all, only offering small smiles as he found an empty spot to sit. They all must have realized that he wanted to be left alone, because no one else bothered him. 

His leg burned in exertion. He cursed the fact that he'd left the crutches.

He’d done it; he’d ruined the best thing that had happen to him. Even if what Evan was saying was true, and that he _did_ want him to stay, Delirious had succumbed to his frustrations, and now it was all over. He’d never see the man again, and his heart ached fiercely. He felt numb, and it had nothing to do with the chill in the air.

How could he have done this to himself? How could he have fallen so hard, so fast? 

Luke was going to be _pissed_.

In a stroke of karma, the sky opened up and he was soaked within seconds. 

He missed his bed, he missed his warm blanket. He missed the sounds of Evan’s ridiculous blender, he missed the comfortable silences as they would sit on his balcony in the morning and drink coffee. 

Mainly, he just missed Evan. 

What did he do?


	10. Jonathan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the final chapter before the epilogue! I couldn't wait to post it, so everything will be completed tonight, Enjoy, my darlings!
> 
> PS, I'm changing the rating of this fic to Explicit. The smut just kind of happened. You can't blame the writer, only the train of the story. And it was chugga chugging towards naked Evan and Del.

Evan was wet, miserable, and absolutely _broken_. 

He had searched high and low for his friend, even long after it had begun to rain. There was no sign of him in the alleys or back ways, no trace of the blue eyed man anywhere. 

The problem was, Evan just didn't know the streets as well as the other man, and he got lost a few times on his quest. But Delirious knew what he was doing, and if he didn't want to be found, he wouldn't be. 

So Evan stood at his window, looking over the dark city and watching as the rain pelted the glass. 

How could he have let it get this bad? How did he not see exactly why Delirious had been so closed off that day? And how was he going to find the man so that he could tell him everything he'd been wanting to since the moment they met?

Oh Evan was in love, of that he was sure. Even though he promised to put his feelings on the back burner to Delirious’ recovery, he couldn't stop himself from falling deeper into the void. 

It was a deeper kind of love than when he was a teenager, though those feelings did play a small part. 

Evan wasn't stupid. He knew that Delirious had started to remember some things. He’d slipped up too many times for Evan not to have noticed. What he remembered, Evan had no idea. 

What Evan didn't understand, was that he thought they were getting closer. Had he misread the signs? We're the blushes on the other man’s face a cruel trick of the lights? Were the lingering looks merely Delirious deciding how to tell him that he was leaving? 

He wasn't going to let it end like this. 

He knew it would be pointless to go back out in the worsening weather, and his heart clenched as he thought about Delirious out in the storm. Hopefully the man had found shelter, and he was staying relatively dry and warm. 

Evan tried to sleep, but every time he closed his eyes, he saw Delirious’ face. 

Was he okay? Was he in pain? Why did Evan not try harder to find him? 

He dragged himself out of bed at five, not getting even a wink of sleep. He needed to get out there, rain or shine, and find his best friend. 

He donned a raincoat and his sturdiest boots. This was something he had to do on foot; he had to be able to go down narrow alleys and cluttered streets. 

Evan grabbed his keys and his phone before making his way to the door. He'd go the same way he went last night, and if that didn't work, he'd circle back around and go the opposite direction. Delirious couldn't have gone far on a bad leg. 

But when he opened the door, he gasped in surprise. Standing there, a fist raised to knock, was Delirious. He was soaked to the bone and shivering, his eyes red as if he'd been crying. 

“Oh, D.” Evan said as he pulled the other man tightly to his chest. “What were you thinking?”

“I'm sorry.” Delirious mumbled into his shoulder, sniffling. 

“Don't. Don't apologize. Come in here. You have to get out of these wet clothes.” Evan led him in, closing the door quietly behind him. Delirious was limping, wincing in pain every time he put pressure on his bad leg. He brought him straight to his bathroom and turned the shower on. “Get warm. I'll get you some new clothes. Then we can talk.”

Delirious just nodded numbly as he disentangled himself from Evan’s side. 

Evan left him to it, heading back into the bedroom to get him a pair of dry sweatpants and a heavy thermal. He left them on the sink, telling Delirious that they were there and he'd be waiting for him in the kitchen. He left the crutches near the door as well, knowing the other man had probably hurt himself further by walking so much. 

He braced his hands on the counter in the kitchen as he took deep, shuddering breaths. Delirious had come back, had come back to _him_. 

He got started on breakfast, knowing that Delirious would be hungry when he got out of the shower. He made chocolate chip pancakes, placing a large plate of them in front of Delirious’ seat with a container of chocolate syrup. 

Evan wasn't very hungry, his body too occupied with everything that had happened in the past twenty four hours. He settled on coffee, and stood patiently as he waited. 

He hadn't done much planning on what to say when he found Delirious, intending to come up with a speech as he walked. But he had shown up at his door, wet and crying, and Evan wasn't sure what to say anymore. 

Delirious came out of his room then, and Evan could hear the crutches as he made his way down the hallway. His hair was still wet, but he'd stopped shaking, and the miserable look on his face was replaced with nervousness. 

He sat down, and Evan opened his mouth to say something, anything, but Delirious held out his hand to stop him. 

“I need to say something.” He started. “Evan, do you want me here?”

“That's what I kept trying to tell you last night, before you ran out on me.” And maybe it was petty, but dammit, Evan was angry. 

Delirious winced. “Look, I'm sorry. I just...I had this thought in my head that now that the cast was off, there was no need for you to be housing me anymore. I've been thinking about it all night. Evan, I wasn't raised to take handouts. I need to be able to work for what I have. If I stay here, I want to be able to pay for my own things, even help out with bills. I don’t want to feel like a burden.”

“D, you’re not…”

“Please, Ev. Let me finish. You have no idea how grateful I am for everything you’ve done for me. But this will never work if I don’t feel like I’m contributing. If the offer is still on the table, I’d like to work for you in R&D. I enjoyed helping Lui, and I’m _good_ at it.” Delirious told him.

“The job is yours, Delirious. It has always been.” Evan said seriously.

“Okay... okay, that’s great. Thank you.”

“When you said, it wasn’t how you were raised, what did you mean?” Evan asked. He wanted the truth.

Delirious looked down at his plate, taking a few seconds before answering. “I’ve been...remembering. I thought they were just dreams at first, and then they stuck with me. They felt right, like I was _supposed_ to know these things. Therapy has helped a lot. Luke, he helped me realize that Jonathan is still me, not a stranger trapped in my head. Once I realized that, it was easier. I still haven’t remembered everything, and something returns to me every day, but it’s getting better.”

“And me? Do you remember me?”

Delirious’ eyes were haunted as he looked up at Evan. “You’re the one thing that my brain doesn’t want me to remember. It’s not fucking fair! I remember Tyler, I remember my _family_ , but no matter what I do, I can’t fucking remember you.” 

Evan wasn’t sure how to respond. He couldn’t be happier that Delirious was gaining his memories, but the fact that Evan was still essentially a stranger in his mind, that hurt worse than he could admit. 

And then, he suddenly didn’t care anymore.

“Who cares?” He said loudly.

“What?”

“Who cares if you don’t remember me? That’s not important anymore. What’s important is right now, and the memories we’ve made. If you don’t ever remember me, it’s okay. I’m a different person, and so are you.” Evan told him firmly.

Delirious was looking at him with wide eyes and Evan could tell that it wasn’t the response that he had expected. “Wow.”

“D, I’m so glad you’re getting them back. You have no idea. All I wanted from the beginning was for you to get better.” He leaned forward and grabbed Delirious’ hand. “You don’t get to leave again, okay? I can’t imagine not having you around. And if you ever feel like I’m pushing away, or don’t want you here anymore, I need you to come to me and we can talk about it. No more fights, and no more running off half-cocked. Deal?”

“Deal.” Delirious said with a smile. 

Evan took his hand back and motioned towards the plate. “You need to eat. We can finish talking later. I’m going to take a shower.”

Delirious dug into his plate as if he hadn’t eaten in days, and Evan shook his head fondly as he walked to his bedroom.

He had to find the right moment to tell Delirious how he felt, but he wasn’t sure when that would be. Delirious had only just come back, and they had already had such a serious conversation. And while Evan doubted that his feelings wouldn’t be reciprocated, he didn’t want to push Delirious so soon after what had happened. 

So he took his shower, and changed into a pair of old jeans and a t-shirt, before heading back out to where Delirious was still sitting.

“Can I ask you for a favor?” He asked when he saw him. Evan nodded immediately. “Could you drop me off at the soup kitchen? Being back out there...it made me realize that I was lucky that I had someone like you. Not everyone gets the same opportunity that I did. I still want to be involved in the community, even if it means just helping to feed them lunch.”

“We’ll go together.” Evan told him. “That’s a great idea.”

“Really? You’d go with me?” Delirious asked.

“Of course I would. You lived in that community for five years, D. It’s a part of who you are. And I want to see that side of you. Besides, I don’t do nearly enough for the good of society.” Evan shrugged.

“That’s right. Since you’re responsible for turning the brains of the kids of America to mush with your video games.” Delirious teased.

“You’re about to be too, so I don’t want to hear it, asshole.” Evan fired back. “It’s still pretty early, but I’m guessing they open early for breakfast, right?”

“They do. I didn’t go often. Other people needed the food more than I did.” Delirious said. 

Evan was taken by Delirious’ compassion and generosity, even during the times when he didn’t have anything to eat for himself. “What are we waiting for then?” 

The Delirious that sat in the front seat was a different Delirious than was there the day before. He chattered away about meaningless things, and Evan was just content to listen. 

The amount of hugs and pats on the shoulder that Delirious got when they walked into the building was a sight to behold. Delirious had an ear splitting grin on his face as he greeted each person. He introduced Evan as his best friend, and told the people that they were there to volunteer. 

“He took me in, gave me a place to live. He's great.” Delirious said to one older woman, who had hugged him the hardest. 

“He's a nice piece of man candy, Delly. You did good.” She said, sending a lascivious wink in his direction. Evan blushed and Delirious just laughed. 

“You say that about everyone, Marty.” 

“This time I mean it. You lucky duck, you.” Marty said. 

“We should go meet the kitchen staff. I'll come swing by and see you after.” Delirious kissed her cheek. 

“Please do, before you leave. I need to talk to you about something important.” Marty told him. “Off with you now. You too, doll.”

Evan let Delirious lead him into the kitchen, his mind still reeling over the odd conversation. 

“Delirious! I haven't seen you in ages!” A young woman wearing an apron stepped from behind a counter where she was chopping vegetables. She gave Delirious a hug, and Evan stomped down on his jealousy. 

“Amber, it's great to see you.” Delirious greeted her. 

“You here to eat? The food should be ready soon. We haven't had many volunteers lately. It's just been mom and me, and sometimes Aaron is able to get off to help.” She cleaned her hands on her apron and Evan felt relief as he saw the wedding band. 

“Actually, we're here to help.” Delirious said. “This is Evan. He found me one day and took me in.”

Amber’s gaze fell on him, and she offered him a sweet smile. “That was really kind of you.”

“Well, technically, I ran him over.” Evan said sheepishly. 

Amber looked down at Delirious’ walking boot and frowned. “Are you okay?”

“Peachy. Perfect. He's more than made up for it.” Delirious told her. “What needs to be done?”

Amber got Evan to work on cooking the biscuits, while Delirious set about cooking the scrambled eggs. 

“This is a nice spread, Am.” Delirious commented. 

“It's the last of it, I'm afraid. We had a large donation a few weeks ago, but it looks like everything else is going to have to start coming out of pocket.” She finished the vegetables and placed them in a serving dish. “The government helps some, but it's not nearly enough to keep everyone fed.” 

Evan took that to heart, and was already planning the amount he would leave to help. 

He stood next to Delirious as they served the breakfast to everyone, and watched as he laughed and interacted with every person in the line. These were his people, and Evan couldn't have been more proud of him. He seemed like a different person here, all smiles and jokes. He was comfortable, confident, and Evan wished he'd be more like it at home. Now, he knew why Delirious had always been a little closed off; he didn't realize that Evan had no intention of letting him go again. 

It took two hours before all of the food was gone, the three of them having to step back into the kitchen a few more times to cook another batch. By the time the last person had gotten their plate, Evan was exhausted, but satisfied. 

They helped Amber clean up, Evan laughingly blowing soap bubbles at Delirious’ face as he put away the extra ingredients.

Most of the people had left by the time they had finished, only a handful loitering about and talking with each other. 

“Do you need help with the lunch rush?” Evan asked Amber as he handed back his apron. 

“My mom and husband will be here soon.” She told him. “But thank you. Seriously, I couldn't have done this without the two of you.”

“It was our pleasure.” Evan said sincerely. “You can expect us every Saturday morning. And please call if you need any help at any time.” 

Amber nodded, smiling as she took the card Evan offered her. “I will.”

“One more thing,” Evan reached into his wallet and pulled out a check. He had run to his car at one point during a lull and wrote one out for the organization. He handed it to her, and she gasped. 

“I cannot accept this.” 

“You can, and you will. You're doing an amazing thing, and you helped Delirious when no one else did.” Evan placed a hand on her arm. “You're an angel, Amber.”

“Evan, this is too much.” She insisted. 

“It's really not. Especially since it's going to a worthy cause. Everyone deserves to eat, and if this will help feed them, then it's worth it.” Evan said. 

Amber threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. “Thank you so much. Honestly, you don't know what this will mean to them.” 

Her eyes were wet when she pulled back, and she patted him gently on the cheek. “Take care of him, okay? He's a special one.” 

“He really is.” Evan said as he looked back at the dining area where Delirious sat at a table with Marty. 

“He's lucky to have you.”

“Honestly, Amber, it's the other way around.” Evan said. “We’ll see you next week.” 

Delirious was shaking his head sadly at Marty when Evan approached. 

“We found him in his palace. He was already gone. But he was happy, Delly. Don't you ever forget that. And he loved you, even though he was a mean son of a bitch to everyone else.” Marty was saying. 

“I loved him too. He was like the father I never had.” Delirious said sadly, and Evan was wondering what he had missed. 

“King Carl is in heaven, baby. And he's watching over you.” Marty cupped Delirious’ chin. “You do well for yourself now, you hear? That's all he wanted for you. He didn't want to see you on the streets, withering away. If he could see you now, Delly, he'd be so damn proud. I know I am.”

Delirious wrapped the woman in a hug, whispering something softly in her ear. She smiled warmly and laughed. 

“Oh yes, I figured that out already.” Marty said. “Oh here is your boy toy now.” She stood, walking over to Evan. She was at least a foot shorter than him, but he couldn't help but cower slightly at her fierce look. “You take care of my Delly, you hear? He's a good boy, too good for this miserable planet. He deserves to be happy.”

“Marty, please…”

“I couldn't agree with you more.” Evan said. “Don't worry, Marty. I'll make sure he's okay.”

“Good. I may be homeless but we stick together. Delly is my boy, love him like a son. It'll be nice to know he's being watched after.” Marty turned back to Delirious and kissed his forehead. “You come around and visit sometimes, baby. It'll be nice to see your charming smile.”

“I promise I will, Marty.” He told her. 

With one last warning look at Evan, she left the building. 

He sat in her abandoned seat, and looked at Delirious. The man looked incredibly sad, a stark contrast to earlier. “What happened, D?”

“Do you remember me telling you about my friend? The one who had a box that he called his palace?” Evan nodded, motioning for him to continue. “He died two weeks ago. He had a heart attack.”

Evan placed a comforting hand on his arm. “I'm really sorry.”

Delirious shrugged. “It happens. It happens a lot. Consequences of the lifestyle I guess. But dammit I'm gonna miss the old fart.”

“You guys were close?”

Delirious nodded. “He was like the dad I never had. If I didn't eat that day, he made sure to bring me some food. I never questioned how he got it. We would stay up late, talking, and he would always invite me into his palace, even though there was no room but for his head.”

“Do you know if he had any family?” Evan asked. 

“A daughter, somewhere in the city. He was an alcoholic, and she sent him to rehab but he left, decided to live on the streets instead. He hadn't seen her since.” Delirious told him. 

“Do you want to try to find her?” 

“Maybe. I can try to make peace with her for Carl's sake. He missed her so much, and I tried so hard to get him to go see her, but he always refused. He would say that he didn't want to drag her down with him.” Delirious said. “Her name is Kelly...Windham I think.”

“We’ll look her up, meet with her and tell her.” Evan said. “I think it would be a nice gesture.”

“You're right.” Delirious stood. “I'm gonna go say goodbye to Amber. I'll meet you at the car in a few minutes.” 

Evan nodded and watched him walk away, before standing and leaving the mostly empty building. He sat in his car, and checked his emails as he waited. 

Delirious didn't take long, and he had a thoughtful look on his face as he took his seat. 

“What?” Evan asked. 

“Amber told me what you did.” Delirious said. “Evan, that was the single most amazing thing that you've done since I met you. Ten thousand dollars? Do you know how much food she can buy with that?”

Evan shrugged. “I wanted to help. I know that will keep them settled for a while.”

“Thank you, for coming with me, for the donation; Evan, it means so much.” Delirious told him. 

Evan blushed at the words. He hadn't done it for the gratitude, he just wanted to help the people that had helped his best friend, the man he loved.

He met Delirious’ eyes, and the look there had all of the air leave Evan's lungs. It was predatory, like Delirious was about to pounce on him and eat him alive. The thought itself left Evan trembling in anticipation.

“Tell me if I got this all wrong.” Delirious said as he leaned forward, his lips finally, _finally_ , on Evan’s. Evan reacted immediately, his hand going around to the back of Delirious’s neck as he deepened the kiss. It was better than anything he could have imagined, better than all of his fantasies combined. He was finally kissing Delirious, and Delirious was just as enthusiastic. 

Delirious placed a hand on his thigh as he experimentally ran his tongue across Evan’s bottom lip, and Evan was more than happy to oblige. He wasn’t sure how long they were kissing, but the windows had started to fog, and Evan was painfully hard in his jeans.

Delirious pulled back first, his eyes half-lidded with lust and desire. “Let’s go home.”

Evan slammed the car into reverse and pulled out of the spot, before punching forward as quickly, but as safely, as he could. Delirious didn't remove his hand, and Evan was painfully aware of the warmth it caused, even through the jeans. 

They couldn’t keep their hands off of each other in the elevator ride up, and by the time the apartment door slammed behind them, Evan had already divested Delirious of his shirt. 

“We’re gonna have to talk about this.” Evan panted as Delirious sucked at a sensitive spot on his throat.

“Mhmm, after.” The other man paused long enough to rid Evan of his own shirt, before he was back to sucking and nipping at every piece of skin he could find.

Evan felt like he was on fire, in the best way possible. “Shit, D, bedroom.”

“D is right.” Delirious teased as he pinched a nipple between his thumb and forefinger. Evan arched his back as a moan slipped out. Evan growled then, lifting Delirious by his ass and carrying him to Evan’s bedroom. 

“Do you even know what you do to me?” Evan asked as he laid the man on the bed, following quickly and draping himself over him. 

Delirious’ hand ghosted across Evan’s clothed erection, and Evan dropped his head to his shoulder. “I think I have some idea.”

Evan went back to kissing him, and Delirious set about the task of unbuttoning Evan’s jeans and slipping his hand under the waistband of his underwear. He gripped Evan’s cock, his thumb grazing across the head. Evan moaned into his mouth, unbelievable sensations rocking through his body as he thrust up into Delirious’ hand.

“Too many clothes.” Delirious said as he let Evan go, and Evan tried not to groan at the loss. Delirious slipped his hands to Evan’s ass, moving his jeans and underwear down. Evan rolled off of him to help, raising his hips and shedding the offending clothing, along with his sneakers. Delirious went to stroke him again, but Evan batted his hand away. Instead, he sat on his heels, running his hands down Delirious’ body and reveling at the shudder that went through the man. “Quit teasing.”

“I’ve waited too long for this, and I’m going to take my time.” Evan smirked as he toyed with the waistband of Delirious’ jeans. “You’re so beautiful.”

Delirious blushed, and Evan was pleased to see that it extended to his neck, and the tips of his ears. 

He cupped Delirious through his jeans, and the moan that was produced was music to Evan’s ears. He couldn’t wait any longer, his patience running thin at the thought of seeing his love naked. The first thing he did was remove the walking boot and his other shoe, throwing them both across the room. He reached again for the jeans, popping the button, lowering the zipper, and quickly took them off, pleased at the slight lift of Delirious’ hips as he helped. 

He was finally met with his goal, and it was magnificent. He bent down, and placed a kiss at the head of the cock. Delirious’ fists tightened on the sheets, and Evan grinned before licking a strip up the shaft. He teased Delirious with his tongue and lips, marveling at the little noises that were slipping through the man’s clenched mouth. “If you don’t stop teasing me, I swear…” But Delirious was cut off as Evan took the head into his mouth and gave a hard suck. Delirious arched completely off the bed, and Evan placed his hand on his hip to steady him. 

He bobbed his head, his tongue circling the head every time he came back up. Delirious was trembling, moaning loudly as Evan paid lavish attention to his erection. 

He felt a tug at his hair, and Evan looked up from his position to see Delirious staring at him, his chest heaving as he struggled to breathe. “You keep going like that, we won’t be able to finish this.”

Evan let the cock fall from his mouth as he smiled at Delirious. “Oh, you’ll be able to finish just fine.”

Delirious laughed, tugging at Evan’s arm until he was flush against him. They both moaned deeply as their cocks slid against each other, the friction unbelievable. Evan placed open mouthed kisses along Delirious’ jaw, the other man’s hands reaching around to grab at Evan’s ass.

“The things I could do to this ass.” Delirious said, his voice hoarse with lust. “Fuck, Ev, right there!” Evan licked at Delirious’ collarbone, where a furious red mark was already starting to bloom. 

He reached blindly for the bedside table drawer where he kept his lube and condoms. His mouth never left Delirious’ body as he gripped the two treasures and placed them on the bed next to them.

“How do you want to do this?” Evan asked. Personally, he didn’t care which way it happened, but the thought of being buried deep inside of Delirious made his cock twitch in excitement. 

“Fuck me, Evan. Please, I need to feel you.” Delirious moaned. 

Evan placed one more filthy kiss to Delirious’ lips before sitting up. He grabbed a pillow, and gently lifted Delirious’ hips before placing it beneath them. Taking the lube, he popped the top and lathered up his fingers. 

“Have you done this before?” Evan asked.

“It’s been awhile.” Delirious admitted, his eyes never leaving Evan’s hand.

“I’ll go slow.” Evan promised as he ran his other hand down the cleft of his ass. He spread his cheeks, Delirious helping by widening his legs to give Evan better access. He nipped at his inner thighs as he circled his finger around the puckered muscle. Delirious gasped, and it was all the encouragement Evan needed to start pressing in. 

Delirious was deliciously tight, and Evan removed his free hand from Delirious’ ass to rub soothing circles on his thigh. The man began to relax as Evan slowly pumped his finger, his knuckles white from where they were clenched by his side. A second finger joined the first, and this time, the moan was more pleasure than pain. He began to thrust back on the fingers, trying to take Evan deeper into him. Evan curled them, pressing harshly against the prostate, and Delirious nearly lept off the bed with a shout of surprise. 

“Fuck! Right there! Do that again!”

Evan did, and the resounding moan nearly had Evan coming before he even got inside of him. 

At three fingers, Delirious was a panting, writhing mess. “Please, oh god please. Fuck me, Evan. I want you so bad.”

He removed his fingers, and tried not to smirk at Delirious’ whimper. He rolled the condom onto his neglected erection, and wiped the excess lube from his fingers onto his cock. With a little more from the bottle, Evan finally lined himself up at Delirious’ entrance.

“You have to tell me if it’s too much.” Evan told him, pushing the head in slowly. Delirious clenched around him, his face scrunched up in pain. Evan continued to massage his thigh, helping the man to relax. Delirious rolled his hips experimentally, and Evan gasped at the feeling as his cock slipped deeper into the man. 

“I’m good.” Delirious whispered, wrapping his legs around Evan’s hips. “Go slow.”

He pushed all the way in, inch by agonizing inch, and let out a deep moan when he was fully sheathed. Delirious petted his hair, as if _he_ was the one who needed the comfort.

He flicked his hips once, twice, and Delirious’ grip tightened. 

Evan could no longer see pain on his face, and thrust his hips out and forward, hard. Delirious shouted Evan’s name, which only spurred him on.

He knew he wasn’t going to last long, not while he was looking at Delirious blissed out face as he pounded into him. The love he felt for the other man spurred him on, wanting to make sure his lover came before he did. 

He rolled his hips as he grasped Delirious’ cock, timing his strokes in rhythm with his thrusts. The noises were increasing, and Evan knew that Delirious was close.

“Come, D. Come for me.” He whispered as he twisted his wrist. Delirious came with a shout, his warm seed spilling over Evan’s hand. The sight of his orgasm led Evan quickly to his own, as he plunged deeply one last time and came. 

He fell forward onto Delirious, ignoring the mess between them and both panting heavily. Evan pulled out, his cock hypersensitive from the force of his orgasm. 

“Wow,” It was the first word spoken since, and Evan couldn’t help but agree. 

He leaned up to capture Delirious’ lips in a kiss. “Wow is right.”

“I’m all sticky.” Delirious whined. Evan laughed. He felt too exhausted to even move, but he knew that if they didn’t clean up now, it would be a hardened mess shortly. He could already feel the sperm drying between their stomachs. 

He forced himself out of bed, removing the condom and tying it up before throwing it in the trash in the bathroom. He wet a towel, and wiped himself off. He rinsed it, wet it again, and joined Delirious back on the bed. He ran the towel lovingly across his stomach, wiping away any evidence of their time together, before traveling down to his ass and giving it the same treatment. When he was done, he threw the towel on the floor and pulled Delirious close to his chest.

“I’m in love with you.” Delirious said after a few minutes.

“I’m in love with you, too.” Evan was euphoric. 

“I’m not going to leave again, Evan. I want you to know that.”

“I wouldn’t let you, even if you did. I would chase you to the ends of the earth.” If only he had done that when he turned eighteen. All of those years, lost. But he couldn’t dwell on the past, because the man in his arms? That was his future.

Delirious snuggled deeper into Evan’s chest, and it wasn’t long before he heard him drift off to sleep. He placed a kiss at the top of his head, before succumbing to the exhaustion himself.

It could have been hours, or minutes, since they had fallen asleep, when suddenly Evan was thrown out of it by Delirious’ sudden movement. The man was gasping for breath as he sat up, and Evan joined him, wrapping an arm around his bare shoulders. 

“Bad dream?”

“We won’t ever stop being best buds.”

Evan stiffened, and he was pretty sure his heart stopped. “What?”

Delirious looked at him, tears shining brightly in his cerulean eyes, even in the dark. “We won’t ever stop being best buds. That’s what you said to me before I left for North Carolina. Before our first date, before I even kissed you. Holy fuck, I was so in love with you then. And now, now I’ve found you again and I’ve fallen all over. They’re all back. I can see everything. I can _remember_ everything.”

Evan kissed him urgently. 

“Who knew all it would take was sex with you to remember. The brain is so fucking weird.” And Delirious was laughing, Evan joining him in an instant.

“I stand by what I said, D. Our new memories are the ones that matter the most. But holy hell, I’m glad you remember me.” Evan told him.

“I don’t know if I’m ready to be called Jonathan again.” Delirious said. “I haven’t been him in a long time.”

“You’ve always been him. He’s just been hiding. You’ll always be my Jonathan, just like you’ll always be my Delirious.” Evan pulled teasingly at his earlobe. “I love you no matter what.”

“Call me Jonathan again.” Delirious said suddenly.

Evan replaced his fingers with his teeth, and he adored the way Delirious shivered as he pulled the lobe taut. “Jonathan.” He whispered in his ear.

Delirious spun around, straddling Evan’s hips and pushing him back down on the bed. Evan laughed at his antics, and Delirious quickly shut him up with a searing kiss. 

“It’s your turn, babe.” Delirious said seductively.

“Show me your worst, Jon.”


	11. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been over a year since I started this story, and I'm proud to say that I've finally finished it. First and foremost, I want to thank everyone who has been so patient with my sporadic postings. Hopefully the content has made up for it. 
> 
> And a huge thanks to Kimberly, who gave me this prompt to begin with, and who has been my sounding board from day one. Love you Kim!
> 
> Alright, that's it from me. I hope you enjoy the ends, and I hope you have enjoyed the story as a whole! Much love!

It took a few weeks, but Delirious began going by Jonathan again, though a few select people continued calling him Delirious. He knew realistically that he was both of them; Delirious represented the new part of him, the person he became. But Jonathan was still _him_ , and he was loathe to forget that again. 

Evan alternated, and Jonathan was grateful for it. Evan didn’t forget, and he understood the turmoil that Jonathan had experienced when all of his memories came back. He had woken the next day with an identity crisis, and Evan was there by his side the entire time, speaking words of encouragement and love. 

He still didn’t remember the accident, and he thanked the high heavens that that was the case. Luke had assured him that it was normal to repress such a traumatic event, and Jonathan didn’t dwell on ever _wanting_ to remember.

Evan had gone with him when he felt ready to visit the graves of his mother and sister. They were both buried in Los Angeles, directly next to each other. Jonathan had cried for their loss for the first time, and Evan held him until the sobs turned into silent tears. 

He had met Kelly Windham, Carl’s daughter, and regaled her with tales about the old man. She laughed, and they cried together, both remembering the person who had meant so much to them. She had tried to find him, but gave up after a year when she realized that he simply did not _want_ to be found.

He had started work at Games Inc., working alongside Lui to research, and even delving into the fray with the development teams. He felt useful, and proud of the work he was doing. It was fun, and he loved the fact that he was helping to create something.

Tyler’s reaction to his memories coming back had been the best. He had come into Evan’s office while Jonathan was there, and Jon decided to tell Tyler off for something that had happened in the fourth grade; Jonathan remembered clearly now, that the spitball that had landed in his eye had come from Tyler’s straw at the lunch table. Tyler sputtered, his eyes comically wide as he looked between the two men. But then he clapped Jonathan on the back, and said, “Welcome back, Jon. Don’t think I forgot about the whoopee cushion in sixth grade. Payback is a bitch and you’ve had yours coming for years.”

All in all, Jonathan was happy with how his life had turned out. He had an amazing boyfriend, a fulfilling job, and great friends. 

He and Evan had switched the mattresses, mutually deciding that Jonathan’s old one was a far better alternative. Other than the sleeping arrangements, not much had changed in their relationship. Evan still cooked for them, they still watched movies and played games on their days and nights off, and they still went, every Saturday, to the soup kitchen to help Amber. Now though, their activities were littered with kisses, arms around waists, snuggling. They had tickling battles, Jonathan nearly always losing as Evan’s deft fingers found his weakest spots. Those battles would typically end with mutual blow jobs, or even a tangle in the sheets if both were willing(they usually were).

Jonathan still went to therapy with Luke, as well as physical therapy for his leg. He could walk without the boot now, his leg only paining him when rain was on the forecast, or if it was a particularly exhausting day. 

He was doing better, better than even he could have predicted. He felt whole again, like he had finally found the missing pieces. And in a way, he had. Evan had unlocked his mind, and was continuing to prove that he was the best man Jonathan could ever had asked for.

“There needs to be a better Slenderman game on the market.” Jonathan told Lui, one day at work. “The others are good, but we can make ours better.”

Lui was nodding as his fingers moved flawlessly across the keyboard. “We can incorporate the legends, make it a story as opposed to hide and go seek.”

“Exactly.” Jonathan was interrupted by his phone ringing. He walked a few steps to his desk, and rolled his eyes at the caller ID. “You know, some of us do work for a living.”

“What do you think I’m doing up here all day?” Evan asked.

“Distracting me from making you money.” Jonathan fired back. He stuck his tongue out at Lui when the man rolled his eyes. 

“Will you shut up and get up here?” Evan laughed. 

“Be right there, boss.” Jonathan hung up, and ran a hand through his hair. He’d decided to let it grow out a bit, the fringe falling slightly on his forehead when it wasn’t styled. He had buzzed the sides, and normally wore his hair spiked up in the front in a sort of faux hawk. He thought he looked badass, and Evan had wholeheartedly agreed, if his reaction had been anything to go by when he had come home with it that night.

Lui waved him away when he tried to explain. “Go, but I’m expecting a report on Slenderman myths on Monday.”

Jonathan saluted, “Sir, yes sir!”

“I’ll see you this weekend, Delirious.” Lui said fondly. “I’m bringing the gummy bears!” He finished with his high pitched voice, and Jonathan snorted.

“Soak them in vodka first and that sounds good to me.”

Lui looked scandalized at the mere thought, and Jonathan waved as he left behind his boss.

He rode up to Evan’s office, and said hello to Mary before stepping in. Evan stood, walking towards him to give him a kiss, but Jonathan put his hand up to stop him. 

Instead, Jonathan turned to the fish tank and cooed affectionately. “Hello, Teddy, Teddy Two, Teddy Three, Fred. I missed you guys.”

“You love those fish more than you love me.” Evan was pouting when Jonathan looked at him. 

“I won’t deny it.” Jonathan joked, but he stepped up to his boyfriend anyway, wrapping his arms around his waist and planting a kiss on his lips. “Hello, Ev.”

“Hey,” Evan responded with a grin, leaning forwards to kiss him again.

“What did you need me for? And it better not be for sex. Evan, we talked about sex in the office.” Jonathan admonished. 

Evan rolled his eyes. “It’s not about sex. But really, can we reopen that conversation? Sex in the office? How hot would that be?”

There was a sharp bang on the wall, and Tyler’s voice rang out down the hallway. “Shut the fuck up!”

They both laughed, Jonathan dropping his head to Evan’s shoulder as his body shook. Torturing Tyler was one of his favorite pastimes. 

“I really called you up here because we’re both leaving early today. We have a lot of shopping to do for the party, and also, I have a surprise for you.” Evan winked. The party had been Evan's idea, as Jonathan was going to meet Brock, Brian, and Alicia for the first time.

“The last time you said you had a surprise, I had burn marks for a week.” Jonathan pointed out, shuddering at the memory. He didn’t want to relive that particular scene over again.

“But the time before that, I took you to the YMCA for your leg.” Evan said. “Not all of my surprises end in bodily harm.”

“Debatable.”

“You’ll love this surprise. I promise.” Evan let go of Jonathan and walked back to his desk to collect his jacket and briefcase. “Come on, we’ll stop at your desk to grab your things. Larry is already waiting for us.”

They did stop, and Lui sighed when he saw them. Knowing Tyler, he had already sent a message to their friends about the conversation he’d overheard. Jonathan winked, before walking with Evan back towards the elevator, and finally outside to the waiting car. 

“To the place we spoke about earlier, sir?” Larry asked from the front seat.

Evan nodded. “Yes. Did you get everything we needed?”

“I got everything on your list. It’s already set up in your apartment.” Larry responded as he pulled the car into traffic.

“What did you make him do? Larry, what did he make you do?” Jonathan asked wildly.

“It would ruin the surprise if I told you, sir.” Larry smiled brightly into the rear view mirror. 

“You don’t pay him enough. He doesn’t pay you enough.” Larry stayed silent, and Evan just rolled his eyes.

“Will you stop?” He said, placing his arm around Jonathan’s shoulders.

“No, I will not.” Jonathan sat forward, out of his reach. “What’s with all the secrets?”

“For fucks sake...just sit back, Jon.”

Jonathan complied, though he was still apprehensive about the entire operation.

Ten minutes later, they arrived outside of a nondescript building. Jonathan had no idea where they were, and Evan merely shook his head when he asked. 

As soon as he was out of the car, the sounds of barking dogs caught his attention, as did the large grassy area that was littered with dog toys and surrounded by a tall chain link fence.

“Please tell me that we’re here for what I think we’re here for.” Jonathan spun around to face his boyfriend.

“Surprise?” Evan said sheepishly.

Jonathan threw himself into his arms. “We’re getting a dog?”

“I want you to pick it out.” Evan told him. “Larry already set up the crate and we have everything we need.”

“Toys?”

“So many.”

Jonathan practically dragged Evan inside, bouncing on the balls of his feet as they waited for a volunteer to take them back. 

He got distracted by every dog he saw, stopping every few feet to pet them through the bars. But there was one dog, who bounced around her cage in excitement at the sight of him, that made Jonathan stop for good. She was a pitbull mix from what he could tell, and it was practically love at first sight between the two. “Her, I want her.”

“I’ll get the paperwork started.” The volunteer said happily. “Most people are put off because of her breed, but she’s the sweetest dog in here.”

Evan crouched down beside him and hesitantly put his hand between the bars. The dog barked playfully, before excessively licking his fingers. 

“She likes you!” Jonathan said with a laugh as Evan pulled his hand back and wiped it on his pants.

“I have a feeling that this decision is going to come back and bite me in the ass.” Evan said, but Jonathan could hear the fondness in his voice. 

“We need some estrogen around the apartment, babe. Don’t we, Teddy?” He sing-songed to the dog, and she spun happily. 

“Delirious, you can’t name all of our animals, Teddy.”

“Watch me.” Jonathan told him. 

Teddy was vibrant and energetic, bounding between her new owners as Jonathan led her back to the car with the leash. She hopped in willingly, laying down immediately on the floor. 

The men got in after her, and Jonathan rubbed her head affectionately. “She’s perfect.” He turned to Evan. “Thank you. I don’t think I say it enough, but I mean it. I wouldn’t even be here without you.”

“Is it bad to say that I’m glad it was my car that hit you that day?” Evan smiled lovingly at him, and Jonathan entwined their fingers.

“I could have lived without the pain, to be honest. But I’m glad too.” He leaned up to kiss Evan just as the car started moving. “I love you, Evan.”

“I love you too, Delirious.” Evan held him tight, and with his man beside him, and his new puppy wrapped around his feet, Jonathan had never felt more alive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, I want to cry tears of relief! I've finished! Leave a comment, a kudos. Let me know what you thought!

**Author's Note:**

> Follow me on tumblr:
> 
> bananabus-squadgoals
> 
> -Dani


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